The Indian stock market faced a sharp decline on Friday, shedding over 1,000 points, following indications from the US Federal Reserve of a cautious approach to interest rate cuts.

Major selling was observed in Nifty’s realty and PSU bank sectors. By the end of trading, the Sensex settled at 78,041.59, down 1,176.46 points, or 1.49%, while the Nifty closed at 23,587.50, declining 364.20 points, or 1.52%.

Krishna Appala from Capitalmind Research attributed the market’s current state to stock-specific trends, noting that broader indices appear to be pausing. He pointed to several influential factors, including the forthcoming US Presidential transition in January and the Union Budget announcement in India.

The Nifty Bank index ended at 50,759.20, a drop of 816.50 points, or 1.58%. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 56,906.75, losing 1,649.50 points, or 2.82%.

Other Nifty sectors such as Auto, IT, Financial Services, Pharma, FMCG, Metal, Media, Energy, Private Bank, Infra, Commodities, and PSE also saw declines.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,057 shares advanced, while 2,935 shares declined. Ninety-three shares remained unchanged.

In the Sensex pack, stocks including Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, L&T, SBI, TCS, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Reliance, and Tata Steel recorded losses. On the other hand, Nestle India and Titan emerged as gainers.

Market analysts cited disappointment over the Federal Reserve’s stance on rate cuts as a key factor influencing the bearish global sentiment.

The rupee traded at 85.02 against the dollar, gaining 0.12 on the day, recovering from levels near 85.10.

(IANS)