Equity benchmarks extended their morning losses during midday trading on Friday, with the BSE Sensex falling 320.84 points or 0.42 per cent to 75,415.12 at 12.35 PM. The NSE Nifty declined 89.70 points or 0.39 per cent to 22,823.45, testing support levels identified by market analysts.
Market breadth remained negative, with 2,002 stocks declining against 1,752 advances on the BSE. The session witnessed 93 stocks hitting 52-week lows compared to 49, reaching 52-week highs, indicating broader weakness in market sentiment.
Metal stocks continued to buck the trend as commodity prices remained firm. Hindalco led the gainers pack, rising 2.47 per cent to ₹654.55, followed by Tata Steel which gained 1.93 per cent to ₹140.70. Other top gainers included Eicher Motors (1.47 per cent), NTPC (1.11 per cent), and Shriram Finance (1.08 per cent).
Automobile and IT sectors faced significant selling pressure. Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the biggest laggard, tumbling 5.51 per cent to ₹2,683. Wipro shed 2.30 per cent to trade at ₹306.10, while BPCL dropped 2.17 per cent to ₹253. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Tata Motors fell 2.01 per cent and 1.88 per cent respectively.
Broader market indices underperformed the benchmarks with the Nifty Midcap Select index falling 1.10 per cent to 11,266.50. The banking sector also traded lower as Nifty Bank declined 0.55 per cent to 49,064.65.
Market participants continue to monitor global cues, particularly concerns around potential new tariffs and persistent inflation in the US. The rise in Brent crude prices, which jumped earlier in the session, added to investor worries about inflationary pressures.
Trading volumes indicated active participation, with Tata Steel seeing the highest volume of nearly 1.9 crore shares traded, followed by Tata Motors at 95.15 lakh shares.
Technical analysts note that the Nifty is testing important support levels around 22,800, with further support expected at 22,700 if selling pressure continues through the afternoon session.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have maintained their selling stance, having offloaded equities worth ₹3,312 crore in the previous session, which continues to weigh on market sentiment as the trading day progresses.
