Sensex Falls 332 Points, Nifty Ends Below 23,800 As Oil, FII Selling Weigh

Indian benchmark indices ended lower on Friday, with the Nifty 50 closing below the 23,800 mark as elevated crude oil prices, persistent foreign fund outflows, weak global markets and disappointing corporate earnings weighed on investor sentiment.

The Sensex fell 331.62 points, or 0.43%, to close at 76,059.77, while the Nifty 50 declined 102.15 points, or 0.43%, to 23,767.45.

Market breadth remained mixed, with 2,050 stocks advancing, 1,961 declining and 196 remaining unchanged.

Among Nifty constituents, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Shriram Finance and Bharti Airtel were the top losers, while HCL Technologies, Wipro, Cipla, ITC and HDFC Life Insurance ended among the top gainers.

Crude Rally, FII Selling Keep Markets Under Pressure

Investor sentiment remained fragile after Brent crude hovering around $100 a barrel, raising concerns over inflation, India's trade deficit and corporate profitability. Higher oil prices remain a key risk for India, which imports the majority of its crude oil requirements.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to pare their exposure to Indian equities, selling shares worth ₹2,999.23 crore on Thursday, adding to pressure on benchmark indices.

Market volatility also increased, with India VIX rising 9% to 14.68, reflecting growing uncertainty and expectations of larger swings in equity markets.

Weak Global Cues, Earnings Weigh On Sentiment

Global markets also remained under pressure. Asian equities declined sharply, led by South Korea's Kospi, which plunged 5.56%, while Japan's Nikkei 225, China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also traded lower.

US markets ended lower overnight, and Wall Street futures pointed to another weak session, with investors remaining cautious amid rising bond yields, higher oil prices and concerns over global growth.

Domestic earnings also weighed on sentiment. InterGlobe Aviation fell more than 2% after IndiGo reported a ₹238 crore net loss for the June quarter due to higher fuel costs and the West Asia conflict. Infosys also declined after narrowing the upper end of its FY27 revenue growth guidance to 1.5%-3%.

IT, Banking Stocks Limit Losses

Despite the broader weakness, select sectors outperformed. The Nifty Media index gained 1.8%, while Nifty IT advanced 0.8%, supported by gains in HCL Technologies and Wipro. Nifty PSU Bank rose 0.5%, and Nifty Bank edged up 0.18%.

On the downside, Nifty Auto was the worst-performing sector, falling 1.1%, followed by Energy (-0.57%), Metal (-0.55%), Realty (-0.55%), Oil & Gas (-0.46%), Pharma (-0.4%) and Infrastructure (-0.4%).

The broader market recovered from intraday lows, with the Nifty Midcap 100 ending flat and the Nifty Smallcap 100 closing 0.3% lower. The rupee ended unchanged at 96.57 against the US dollar.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, markets are likely to remain under pressure in the near term as persistently high crude oil prices could begin affecting India's macroeconomic outlook and growth. He said higher US Treasury yields, expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike, fresh US tariffs and energy-led inflation concerns have dampened global risk appetite. However, he noted that Bank Nifty outperformed on the back of attractive valuations and a healthy credit growth outlook.