Sensex falls 400 pts, Nifty slips below 24,300 as IT, metal stocks drag; key reasons behind market fall

Indian equity benchmarks came under selling pressure on Friday, with the Sensex falling nearly 400 points and the Nifty slipping below 24,300 as investors booked profits across IT, metal and other heavyweight stocks. The decline came despite a positive global backdrop, with weak domestic sentiment and elevated crude prices keeping investors cautious.

The BSE Sensex dropped as much as 396 points, or 0.5%, to 77,684.37, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 99 points, or 0.4%, to 24,296.80.

At the time of reporting, the 30-share Sensex was down 313.87 points, or 0.40%, at 77,766.09, while the Nifty was trading 73.70 points lower at 24,321.20.

The weakness was broad-based, with the Nifty Metal index falling 1.29%, followed by the Nifty IT index, which declined 1.01%. PSU banks, oil and gas, auto and pharma stocks were also under pressure.

Among Sensex constituents, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies and Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. In contrast, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Titan and Eternal were among the gainers.

Here are the key factors behind the market fall:

Crude oil remains a key concern

A sharp rise in crude oil prices had earlier weighed on market sentiment, with Brent crude moving above $91 a barrel amid uncertainty over a possible US-Iran deal. Although crude has since cooled to below $87 a barrel, elevated energy prices remain a concern for Indian equities.

“The range-bound nature of the market is likely to continue in the near term. Nifty has been consolidating between 23,800 and 24,400 without any triggers for a breakout above the upper band or a breakdown below the lower band,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.

He said the Nifty was poised for a breakout above the upper band, but this was foiled by the spike in crude oil prices above $91 a barrel, triggered by the absence of an expected US-Iran deal.

“Now Brent crude has cooled off to below $87, which is a mild positive for the market. Even though FPI selling has tapered out and they had turned buyers recently, a clear trend in FII activity is yet to emerge,” Vijayakumar added.

IT, metal stocks drag

The Nifty IT index fell 1.01%, with Tech Mahindra down nearly 2%, while HCL Technologies, TCS and Infosys also traded lower. The Nifty Metal index was the worst-performing sectoral index, declining 1.29%, with Tata Steel among the major losers.

The broader market also remained weak, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices declining 0.54%.

The domestic weakness came despite a positive overnight session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 closed at a record high after weaker-than-expected US producer price inflation strengthened expectations of a steady Federal Reserve policy stance. Continued strength in AI-related technology stocks also supported the Nasdaq.

Asian markets followed the positive global cues, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising more than 1.5% and South Korea’s Kospi gaining over 2% in early trade.

However, geopolitical uncertainty and elevated crude prices continued to weigh on domestic sentiment. According to analysts, the market is likely to remain range-bound in the near term, with investors closely tracking crude oil prices, geopolitical developments and foreign fund flows for the next directional cues.

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