The Nifty 50 settled at 24,176.15, down 150.50 points or 0.62%, while the Sensex closed at 77,328.19, declining 516.33 points or 0.66%, as reported by The Times of India. Markets ended the week on a weak note Friday, as fresh military exchanges between the US and Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz rattled investor confidence and dashed hopes of a near-term resolution. According to Raghvendra Nath, managing director at Ladderup Asset Managers, "Sentiment is completely hostage to the Iran war, and while peace looked possible earlier this week, fresh attacks have slammed the door on that optimism." The session's losses trimmed weekly gains in the Nifty and Sensex indexes to 0.7% and 0.5% respectively, with earlier peace optimism and corporate earnings that have lacked major negative surprises so far providing some cushion.
Brent crude for June 2026 settlement added $1.41 or 1.41% to $101.47 a barrel, after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Middle East, straining a month-long ceasefire, as reported by The Times of India. The rupee declined to 94.58 against the dollar, compared with its previous close of 94.22, as dollar demand picked up on geopolitical uncertainty. Elevated crude prices will pile on macro-economic and earnings pressure going forward, even if a largely stable March quarter earnings season has so far cushioned the markets. Gold, meanwhile, rose ₹500 to ₹1,52,800, with bullion traders keeping a close eye on US non-farm payrolls data for cues on dollar direction and Fed policy expectations.
Sectorally, the session showed mixed performance with Banking and Oil & gas shares declining while IT, media and FMCG shares advanced, according to The Times of India. Asian Paints gained 2.18%, Adani Ports rose 1.43%, HCL Technologies advanced 1.01%, and Sun Pharma climbed 0.90%. On the losing side, HDFC Bank and UltraTech Cement both declined 1.93%, while Bajaj Finance fell 1.85%. Infosys added 0.86%, Tech Mahindra climbed 0.85%, and Hindustan Unilever gained 0.72%. Sonata Software soared 11.25% after reporting a 25.05% jump in consolidated net profit to ₹130.50 crore despite a 17.67% decline in revenue, while Goa Carbon surged 9.56% after posting a standalone net profit of ₹4.49 crore compared with a net loss of ₹6.53 crore in Q4 FY25.
A notable divergence played out in broader markets, with the Nifty Midcap index shedding 0.09% and the Smallcap index rising 0.38%, as reported by The Times of India. The market breadth remained strong with 2,033 shares rising and 2,047 shares falling on the BSE, while 203 shares remained unchanged. The NSE's India VIX rallied 3.27% to 17.17, indicating increased volatility expectations. On a weekly basis, the Nifty gained 0.74% and the Sensex added 410 points, with Capital Markets, Auto and Defence indices leading sectoral gains. Fourteen of the 16 major sectors logged weekly gains, with the auto index adding 5.2%, led by upbeat quarterly results from Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, which gained 4.4%-7.5%.
According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, the broader market stole the spotlight this week, with midcap and smallcap indices significantly outperforming, as reported by Reuters. FII outflows moderated through the session, with domestic institutional buying continuing to provide a buffer against sharper declines. Key technical levels to watch include Nifty support at 24,000–24,100 and resistance at 24,400–24,500, while for the Sensex, 76,500 on the downside and 77,800–78,000 on the upside. The road ahead hinges squarely on the Gulf, with Iran's response to the US peace proposal and any developments around the Strait of Hormuz set to determine market direction next week. VK Vijayakumar from Geojit Investments noted that despite geopolitical tensions, some markets are performing extremely well, with South Korea and Taiwan leading with 71% and 40% returns YTD respectively, driven by AI stocks.
