The sell-off in the Indian stock market intensified on Friday, September 26, as fresh headwinds continued to weigh on Dalal Street, with investors turning cautious, shunning riskier bets, and pushing equities to multi-month lows.
Although markets opened the session with a mild cut, the sell-off deepened during the second half of trading. The Nifty 50 extended its losing streak to a sixth consecutive session, falling another 0.95% to settle at 24,654 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 80,426, down 0.90% from the previous close.
For the week, the Nifty 50 ended down 2.67%, marking its biggest weekly drop in the last six months and erasing 90% of the gains made after the GST reforms announced on September 3. The Sensex also fell 2.70% for the week, its largest decline since April 2025.
The broader markets also suffered steep losses, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices dropping 1.82% and 2%, respectively. Both indices finished the week lower by up to 5%.
Friday’s crash was once again led by technology stocks, with pharma also joining the decline. Sector-wise, all major sectoral indices closed in red, with Nifty IT emerging as the top sectoral laggard, falling 2.45% on Friday and ending the week down 8%, marking its largest weekly decline since April 2025.
It was followed by Nifty Pharma, which lost 2.13% in the session. Other indices, including Nifty Metal, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Media, and Nifty 50, also closed lower by over 1%.
Pharma, tech stocks lead Friday’s crash
Over 100 Nifty 500 companies closed with losses of more than 3%, led by pharma stocks such as Wockhardt, Laurus Labs, Neuland Laboratories, Biocon, and Zydus Lifesciences, which fell up to 9.2%. The decline was triggered after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on imports of branded and patented drugs, effective October 1, unless companies set up manufacturing plants in the United States.
Analysts believe the 100% U.S. tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical products could significantly impact Indian pharmaceutical exporters, as the U.S. is the largest market for Indian pharma, accounting for about 35% of exports valued at $10 billion in FY25, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.
Meanwhile, IT stocks came under another round of selling pressure, with Oracle Financial Services, Coforge, Persistent Systems, and MphasiS falling between 3% and 4.5%. Vodafone Idea shares also bled 7.6% to ₹8 apiece after reports that the top court deferred hearing its plea over additional dues.
Metal stocks such as Hindustan Copper, Hindustan Zinc, SAIL, and NMDC Steel were also among the top laggards, slipping up to 5%. Auto stocks, which had weathered the recent sell-off, also came under pressure, with Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai Motor India each falling more than 3%.
New-age tech stocks, including PB Fintech, Brainbees Solutions, Honasa Consumer, and Eternal, closed lower in the range of 3% to 4.5%.
(more to come)