Sensex below 80,000, Nifty falls as IT, metal, oil & gas stocks tumble; small, midcaps down 0.6% down

Sensex, Nifty end the session on a weak note.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex ended the session on a weak note to extend losses for a third session in a row as weakness in auto, IT, and metal stocks outweighed support from FMCG stocks. The pressure also spilled over to the broader market, with mid- and small-cap indices trimming early gains to end lower on Friday, August 29.

At close, the Sensex was down 270.92 points or 0.34 percent at 79,809.65, and the Nifty was down 74.05 points or 0.30 percent at 24,426.85. About 1678 shares advanced, 1980 shares declined, and 115 shares were unchanged.

"Sentiment remained under strain from the implementation of an additional 25 percent U.S. tariff, which, combined with weakness in heavyweights, is exerting steady pressure on the markets. In the absence of major domestic triggers, global developments continue to drive near-term direction," Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President at Religare Broking, said.

Markets ended mixed on Friday with the India VIX slipping 4.52 percent to 11.63. FMCG gained the most, up 0.95 percent, followed by consumer durables and media, while autos, IT and metals dragged lower. Realty was the biggest loser, down 1.33 percent, alongside oil & gas which slipped 1.01 percent. Bank Nifty fell 0.31 percent as PSU banks declined, though private banks were largely flat. Broader indices also stayed under pressure, with the Midcap 100 down 0.57 percent and the Smallcap 100 lower by 0.39 percent.

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Shares of textile and footwear companies were sharply higher in anticipation of benefits from the proposed GST rate rationalisation, which will be taken up by the GST Council next week. CNBC TV-18's report suggests that the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation may propose to the council to reduce GST on textile products such as glimped yarn, metallised yarn and rubber thread to 5 percent from the current 12 percent.

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Bharat Forge shares slipped almost 2 percent after Morgan Stanlet said exports to the US made up 38 percent of its standalone revenue in FY25, with about 30 percent of the topline exposed to the recent hike in tariffs from 10 percent to 50 percent. While the company managed to pass on part of the impact in the June quarter when the lower tariffs were in place, the sharper levy could now dent its EBITDA by nearly 30 percent.

Shriram Finance, ITC, Bharat Electronics, Trent, L&T, Asian Paints and UltraTech Cement were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index were M&M, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Apollo Hospitals, and Adani Enterprises.