Indian equities ended their five-day winning streak on Friday as the Sensex tumbled 607.08 points to close at 76,802.90, while the Nifty 50 declined 154.90 points to settle at 24,013.10, slipping below the psychologically important 24,050 level. According to The Indian Awaaz, this marked a significant reversal after the benchmark indices had jumped up to 4.85% over the past five sessions. The sharp decline was primarily driven by heavy selling in IT stocks, weak global cues, and renewed geopolitical uncertainty. During intraday trading, the Sensex had tanked as much as 940.26 points or 1.21% to 76,469.72, highlighting the volatility in Friday's session. Nifty IT emerged as the biggest laggard, dropping 3.57% with majority of other sectors trading in the red. Following IT, realty and consumer durables also lost over a percent, while heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank contributed to the downside pressure.
The IT sector witnessed a massive reversal on Friday, with the index continuing to trade below its key short-term and long-term moving averages. According to The Indian Awaaz, investor sentiment weakened after global technology major Accenture lowered its revenue growth guidance and highlighted limited visibility in client spending, sparking concerns about moderation in global technology demand and its potential impact on Indian IT exporters. On BSE, Infosys led the major losses, declining 6.69%, followed by Tata Consultancy Services which dropped 3.53%, HCL Tech 2.74%, and Tech Mahindra ending 2.45% lower. However, Oracle Financial Services Software stood out as an exception and registered gains. Market analyst Vipin Dixena noted that the IT selloff appears to be an overblown reaction to Accenture's guidance cut, creating emotional panic that doesn't match underlying fundamentals. The 27,050–27,000 zone remains a crucial support zone, with any sustainable move below this zone potentially leading to further downside.
Renewed geopolitical uncertainty significantly dampened investor sentiment, with US Vice President JD Vance postponing his visit to Switzerland to meet Iranian negotiators, citing logistical issues. As per Enrich Money, the negotiations aimed at resolving the technical aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the US and Iran were scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday. According to Religare Broking, the cautious commentary from the global IT bellwether reignited worries about discretionary spending, delayed deal conversions, and the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on client spending patterns. Market analysts noted that profit booking after the recent rally, persistent foreign institutional selling, and mixed global cues further weighed on investor sentiment. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,025.20 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data, adding to the selling pressure.
Despite the recent decline, analyst Sudeep Shah from SBI Securities noted that the broader undertone remains constructive as the Nifty continues to trade above its 20-day and 50-day EMA. As reported by The Indian Awaaz, the daily RSI is placed at 58 and remains above its 9-day moving average, indicating that positive momentum is still intact. On the downside, the 23,850-23,800 zone is expected to provide immediate support, as it coincides with the 50-day EMA and the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. A decisive breach below 23,800 could intensify selling pressure and drag the index towards the next key support at 23,500. Market analyst Vipin Dixena noted that technically, Nifty still holds above 24,000 and closed above today's opening level, with the broader uptrend structure remaining intact.
Despite weakness in headline indices, the broader market displayed resilience with mid-cap and small-cap stocks continuing to attract selective buying interest. According to The Indian Awaaz, the BSE MidCap index gained 0.62% while the SmallCap index rose 0.42%, indicating that investors remained positive on domestic growth themes despite near-term volatility. Market breadth remained positive with advancing shares marginally outnumbering declining counters on the BSE, reflecting selective sectoral participation. However, volatility indicators pointed to growing investor caution as India VIX rose 2.34% to 12.97, suggesting expectations of higher short-term market swings. In debt markets, India's benchmark 10-year government bond yield edged higher to 6.853%, while commodities saw Brent crude dip 0.58% to $79.39 per barrel. Sectorally, BSE IT tanked 3.57%, Focused IT 2.81%, Oil & Gas 1.21%, Energy 1%, Realty 0.94%, and PSU Bank 0.61%, while Telecommunications climbed 1.59% and Power 1.02%.
