The benchmark equity indices ended lower on Friday as selling pressure in financial and private banking stocks, coupled with rising geopolitical tensions, weighed on investor sentiment.
While the broader market remained relatively resilient, weakness in heavyweight financial stocks pushed the benchmarks into negative territory.
The Nifty ended the session down 65.35 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 24,570.65, while the Sensex declined 455.59 points, or 0.58 per cent, to settle at 78,499.17.
Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the 24,600–24,700 zone remains a crucial resistance area.
“On the downside, 24,500 remains the crucial immediate support. A decisive break below this level could trigger further profit booking and drag the index towards the 24,400–24,300 region,” an analyst stated.
Market sentiment remained cautious throughout the session as investors trimmed exposure to financial stocks.
The Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Private Bank indices emerged as the worst-performing sectoral gauges, exerting significant pressure on the broader market.
Among the Nifty constituents, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Trent were the top laggards, contributing to the benchmark’s decline.
Despite weakness in the frontline indices, the broader market showed resilience. The Nifty MidCap index rose 0.22 per cent while the Nifty SmallCap index slipped marginally by 0.05 per cent.
On the sectoral front, auto and information technology shares provided some support to the market.
The Nifty Auto and Nifty IT indices were the top gainers among major sectoral indices, helping limit the losses in the benchmarks.
Experts said that the day’s trading reflected a risk-off mood among investors, with concerns over geopolitical developments overshadowing gains in select sectors and keeping overall market sentiment subdued.
“Notably, SBI’s strong performance, underpinned by healthy credit growth, improving asset quality and resilient margins, has reinforced confidence in the banking and PSU banking segments, offering an important pillar of support to the broader market outlook,” a market expert mentioned.
(IANS Inputs)
