After a strong start to the New Year, the Indian stock market stumbled on Friday, weighed down by losses in key sectors like IT, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. Weak global cues added to investor unease, halting the recent upward momentum.
The Sensex dropped 720.60 points, or 0.90%, to close at 79,223.11, while the Nifty ended at 24,004.75, down 183.90 points or 0.76%.
The Nifty Bank index fell by 1.20%, finishing at 50,988.8. Midcaps and small caps also faced pressure, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index down 0.30% at 57,931.05 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index slipping 0.24% to close at 19,033.70.
Market analysts attributed the downturn to investor caution amid uncertainties about upcoming earnings and weaker-than-expected economic data. IT, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and banking stocks were among the hardest hit.
Despite broad declines, some sectors showed resilience. PSU Banks, FMCG, Metals, Media, Energy, and Commodities sectors posted gains.
Among Sensex stocks, major losers included HDFC Bank, Zomato, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, and Bharti Airtel. Meanwhile, Tata Motors, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Steel emerged as gainers.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the market breadth was slightly positive, with 2,115 stocks advancing, 1,871 declining, and 117 remaining unchanged.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹1,506.75 crore on January 2, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought ₹22.14 crore worth of stocks, indicating continued interest in Indian markets despite the dip.
According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, Nifty failed to break above its 50-day exponential moving average, leading to the correction.
“On the upside, if Nifty manages to breach the 24,220 mark, it could rise further towards 24,500. Conversely, a fall below 24,000 may pull the index down to 23,700,” he said.
