The equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell nearly 1 percent in afternoon trade on Friday, tracking heavy selling in metal, realty, pharma and IT stocks amid concerns over trade tensions between India and the US.
Selling pressure intensified after US President Donald Trump said there would be no trade talks with India until a tariff dispute was resolved, reported ANI.
His administration has imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian imports, taking the total to 50 percent, citing New Delhi’s continued oil imports from Russia.
At 12:10 pm, the Sensex was down 585.52 points or 0.73 percent at 80,037.74. The broader Nifty fell 180.50 points or 0.73 percent to 24,415.65.
Titan Company, NTPC and Trent were among the major gainers, rising up to 2 percent, while Adani Enterprises and Bharti Airtel declined more than 3 percent.
Market breadth was negative with 1,834 stocks declining, 1,582 advancing and 120 remaining unchanged.
Eleven of the 13 major sectoral indices were in the red. The Nifty Metal index was the biggest laggard, down 1.64 percent, followed by the realty index which slipped over 1 percent.
The pharma index dropped up to 0.8 percent, while IT stocks with significant US exposure fell 0.64 percent. Auto shares also traded lower.
The Nifty Midcap100 index slipped 1 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap100 was down 0.6 percent.
"Yesterday’s sharp 250-point recovery from the low level in Nifty was caused by short covering triggered by strong buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) of Rs 10,864 crore. In the present context of negative sentiments in the market caused by the tariff skirmishes between India and the US, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are likely to continue selling in the cash market. The only saving grace is the sustained DII buying, which remains strong," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, the volatility index rose over 1 percent to 11.84, indicating heightened investor caution.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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