Equity benchmarks ended lower on Friday, dragged down by automobile stocks following reports of potential cuts in electric vehicle import duties, while continued foreign investor selling and global trade concerns further dampened sentiment.
The BSE Sensex closed down 424.90 points or 0.56 per cent at 75,311.06, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 117.25 points or 0.51 per cent to end at 22,795.90, marking its lowest close in 2025.
Mahindra & Mahindra led the losses, tumbling 6.20 per cent following media reports that the government may slash import duties on electric vehicles from 110 per cent to 15 per cent as Tesla prepares to enter the Indian market. Other major decliners included Adani Ports and BPCL, both dropping 2.67 per cent, followed by Tata Motors falling 2.52 per cent and Adani Enterprises declining 2.48 per cent.
Metal stocks bucked the trend, with Hindalco rising 2.09 per cent and Tata Steel gaining 1.85 per cent. Eicher Motors, Larsen & Toubro, and SBI Life Insurance also finished in the green, advancing 1.63 per cent, 1.21 per cent, and 0.73 per cent respectively.
“The domestic market continued to exhibit broad-based weakness, primarily influenced by investor concerns over the hawkish tone of the FOMC minutes, which signalled prolonged higher interest rates that could constrain liquidity in EMs,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The Indian rupee weakened by 0.05 rupees to 86.70 against the dollar despite the dollar index slipping to 106.60. “FII selling continued, keeping pressure on the currency. Additionally, reports of a potential reduction in import taxes on EVs added further strain on the rupee,” noted Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading ₹33,527.55 crores worth of Indian equities in February so far. “Markets remained downbeat amid continued uncertainty on domestic growth, further exacerbated by threats of reciprocal tariffs,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.
The broader market indices underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap Select falling 1.69 per cent and Nifty Bank declining 0.72 per cent. Market breadth was negative, with 2,242 stocks declining versus 1,703 advances on the BSE. Sixty stocks hit 52-week highs while 128 touched 52-week lows.
Looking ahead, Ajit Mishra, SVP Research at Religare Broking, suggested that “the ongoing consolidation phase could conclude soon” with 22,700 being a crucial support level for the Nifty. “A decisive break below 22,700 in Nifty could signal trend resumption, with support levels at 22,500 and a major cushion around 22,000,” he added.
In corporate news, Religare Enterprises surged 15 per cent after the Burman family, owners of Dabur, took control of the company.
The market weakness was broad-based, with all sectors except metals ending in the red. Auto, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sectors witnessed the steepest declines. “Local benchmarks under-performed both Asian and European indices, which logged significant gains,” observed Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP Research at Mehta Equities.
