The Indian stock market witnessed a sharp decline on Friday, as weak global cues and trade tensions weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Both the Sensex and Nifty 50 ended the day with steep losses, reflecting widespread selling pressure across sectors.
The Sensex plummeted 1,414 points, or 1.9 percent, to close at 73,198 after hitting an intraday low of 73,141. Over the past week, the index has shed 2,113 points, or 2.8 percent, and recorded a staggering loss of 4,303 points, or 5.6 percent, in February.
The benchmark index has now declined nearly 15 percent from its all-time high of 85,978.
The Nifty 50 mirrored the downturn, falling 420 points, or 1.86 percent, to settle at 22,125, with an intra-day low of 22,105. The index registered a 5.9 percent drop in February and is now down nearly 16 percent from its record high of 26,277.
Market analysts believe that Nifty could find support around the 21,800-22,000 range, with a sustained move above this level potentially triggering a recovery. However, a failure to hold could lead to further sharp declines.
The market opened on a weak note following the announcement by US President Donald Trump of plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting March 4. Further exacerbating global trade concerns, Trump also threatened an additional 10 percent tariff on China, fueling fears of an escalating trade conflict.
The sell-off was broad-based, with all sectoral indices closing in negative territory. IndusInd Bank led the losses among Sensex stocks, plunging 7 percent. Other major laggards included Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Titan, Infosys, and Nestle India, all of which fell between 4 and 6 percent.
Among the 30 Sensex stocks, 27 ended in the red, with losses exceeding 1 percent. HDFC Bank was the only gainer, rising 2 percent.
IT and auto stocks bore the brunt of the decline, shedding around 4 percent each, while other sectors, including FMCG, healthcare, capital goods, consumer durables, and oil & gas, registered losses exceeding 2 percent.
The broader market also struggled, with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropping over 2 percent each. The SmallCap index recorded its steepest monthly decline in five years, underscoring the depth of the market’s turmoil.
Investor sentiment remained highly negative, with nearly five stocks declining for every one that advanced on the BSE. Of the 4,081 stocks traded, 3,248 ended in losses, while only 742 managed to register gains. Additionally, 476 stocks hit their lower circuit limits, whereas only 106 stocks touched their upper limits.
-IANS
