Stock Market Live: Sensex ends 765 pts lower, Nifty at 24,363; Airtel, Tata Motors, M&M, RIL lead fall

The bears resumed their downward move after a brief pause in the previous session. Nifty extended its losing streak to the sixth consecutive week, slipping below its 100-DMA at 24500, which is now expected to act as an immediate hurdle, said Nilesh Jain, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research Analyst (Equity Research), Centrum Broking .

The 200-DMA, placed at 24050, is likely to offer near-term support for the Nifty. The overall trend remains weak as long as the index trades below 24800, with any pullbacks likely to face selling pressure.

The Indian equity market exhibited downward movement, closing at a three-month low amid growing concerns over the impact of U.S. tariffs on Indian exports, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.

"FIIs remained net sellers, intensifying the pressure on domestic indices. The pessimism was broad-based, with realty and metals bearing the biggest brunt. Additionally, global financial institutions have begun revising India’s economic outlook downward, citing the adverse effects of the ongoing tariff concern. Growth projections for 2025 and 2026 have been lowered, reflecting heightened uncertainty surrounding India’s trade and macroeconomic environment."

Overall, the market breadth was weak, with 2,501 stocks declining out of total traded shares of 4,173 on the BSE. On the other hand, 1,526 shares advanced and 146 ended unchanged. A total of 119 stocks hit their 52-week highs and 110 touched 52-week lows. Additionally, 224 stocks were locked in their upper circuit limits, whereas 225 slipped to their lower circuit limits.

Extending opening losses, the BSE Sensex closed 765.47, or 0.95%, lower at 79,857.79, while the NSE Nifty slumped 232.85 points, or 0.95%, to 24,363.30.

The broader market was worst hit, with the Nifty Midcap100 and the Nifty Smallcap100 indices falling 1.64% and 1.5%, respectively.  

Post acquiring a majority stake in Rediff back in 2024, Infibeam Avenues today announces that its board of directors have approved entering into a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) with Rediff.com India Ltd to transfer its Ecommerce Platform Infrastructure Services business independently valued at ₹800.39 crore.

The strategic business transfer is expected to deliver focused business segmentation enabling both Rediff and Infibeam Avenues to operate with enhanced focus and ownership, it said in a release.

HDFC Life and Northern Arc Capital have come together to forge a strategic partnership to offer financial security to customers.

The synergy between Northern Arc's grassroots penetration and HDFC Life's strong and diversified product suite will provide comprehensive financial protection to underserved segments nationwide, empowering individuals and contributing to India's financial resilience, HDFC Life said in a release.

Speaking on the partnership, Vibha Padalkar – MD & CEO, HDFC Life commented, “There is a need for financial security across a large section of our population. This partnership with Northern Arc Capital further adds value to our multi channel distribution strategy and enhances our geographical footprint by leveraging their extensive network and strong connections with over 200 plus Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs)."

"This collaboration enables us to provide life insurance solutions across retail and credit life products throughout India. Through our simple and customisable products, tech-led platforms and superior levels of service, we aim to reach more individuals and groups looking to secure themselves and their loved ones, financially. We remain committed to the collective goal of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’. ”

Shares of Medi Assist Healthcare Services climbed over 1% today after the company reported a strong set of numbers for the June quarter of financial year 2026 (Q1FY26). The third-party administration services to insurance firms posted a 19.1% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at ₹22.4 crore for the first quarter that ended June 30, 2025. Revenue from operations jumped 13.6% to ₹190.5 crore against ₹167.7 crore in Q1FY25.

Shares of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) slipped nearly 2% in early trade on Friday even after the country’s oldest exchange reported robust earnings in June quarter of the current fiscal. The weakness in BSE shares was largely due to a sell-off in benchmark indices, with the Sensex falling as much as 538 points to 80,085, while the NSE Nifty slumped 164 points to 24,431 level in the first two hours of trade so far.

Snapping two sessions gaining streak, BSE shares declined as much as 2.45% to ₹2,382.30 on the NSE, while its market capitalisation slipped to ₹97,676 crore. The counter witnessed strong volume as nearly 40 lakh shares changed hand over the counter in less than two hours of trading.

Shares of Bharti Airtel declined nearly 3% in early trade on Friday amid reports that its promoter entity, Indian Continent Investment, is expected to offload a 0.8% equity stake in the company through a block deal today.

Reacting to the news, Bharti Airtel shares dropped as much as 2.9% to ₹1,868.70 on the BSE, while its market capitalisation slipped to ₹10.68 lakh crore. The counter witnessed strong volume, with 1.21 crore shares changing hands compared to the two-week average of 3.24 lakh shares.

"The market continues to be technically and fundamentally weak. Continuous lower lows on the Nifty is technically a weak sign," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.

From the fundamental perspective,  there are no indications yet of a sharp uptick in earnings for FY26. These weak indicators, along with the relatively high valuations in India, are triggering sustained selling by the FIIs.

FIIs have sold on all trading days of August, so far, taking their total cash market selling in August, till now, to Rs 15950 crores. Yesterday’s sharp 250 point recovery from the low level in Nifty was caused by short covering triggered by the strong buying by DIIs of Rs 10864 crores.

In the present context of negative sentiments in the market caused by the tariff skirmishes between India and the US, FIIs are likely to continue selling in the cash market. The only saving grace is the sustained DII buying which remains strong. The strong DII buying assisted by sustained flows into mutual funds can prevent a crash in the market. Investors may wait and watch for the developments on the tariff front to unfold, he said.

The BSE Sensex declined 174 points, or 0.22%, to 80,449 in opening trade, while the NSE Nifty slipped 27 points, or 0.12%, to 24,570 level.

In the broader markets, Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indices were down up to 0.2% in early trade.