Sensex tumbles 961 points, Nifty below 25,200; Adani Enterprises, Maruti Suzuki emerge as top laggards

The Indian equity markets ended today’s session in the negative, amidst broad-based selling pressure and weak global cues. Sensex declined 961.42 points or 1.17% to settle at 81,287.19. Nifty stumbled below the 25,200-mark, slipping by 317.90 points or 1.25% to 25,178.65. The Nifty index has declined 581.65 points or 2.26% in this week, while Sensex has steeply declined 2,040.28 points or 2.45%.

On the global front, Asian markets traded lower, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index in negative territory. Overnight, US markets ended mostly lower. The S&P 500 and European equities closed in the red after Nvidia reported quarterly earnings. Despite better-than-expected results and strong revenue guidance of $78 billion for the first quarter, Nvidia shares fell 5.5%, dragging semiconductor stocks and denting sentiment. Tech-heavy Asian indices tracked losses in the Nasdaq, with Indian investors taking similar cues, which led to negative sentiments. 

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,465.99 crore on Thursday. Persistent overseas selling has added pressure to domestic equities, as capital outflows weigh on liquidity and sentiment.

In the Nifty index, Adani Enterprises and Maruti Suzuki India emerged as top laggards, declining by 2.68% and 2.5% respectively. Grasim Industries, Bharti Airtel, and Sun Pharma declined around 2.5% each. Bucking the trend were five companies—Trent, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Apollo Hospitals and Eternal, rising between 0.40% and 1.25%. 

Broader markets echoed the same trend as seen by benchmarks, with Nifty Midcap 100 falling 1.14% and the small-cap index stumbling by 1.10%.

Sector-wise, IT, media and consumer durables were the only ones to trade in the green, clocking a marginal increase. Nifty Realty was the major loser, declining by 2.26%, followed by Nifty Auto, which fell by 1.87%. 

Analysts weigh in on negative sentiments

Analysts suggested that negative trends across U.S. and major Asian markets, along with continued foreign institutional investor selling, weighed on sentiment, particularly in large-cap banking and financial stocks. “The IT sector failed to sustain early gains and faced renewed pressure, while other cyclical and globally sensitive sectors remained subdued. Elevated volatility, geopolitical concerns, and cautious positioning ahead of key macroeconomic triggers kept investors defensive. The prevailing mood was clearly risk-off, with near-term direction likely to hinge on global developments, foreign fund flows, and upcoming economic data,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said, “Weak global cues and rising geopolitical uncertainty following inconclusive US–Iran talks weighed on investor confidence, triggering broad-based profit booking across Auto, FMCG and Pharma stocks after recent advances. The absence of fresh domestic triggers further accelerated the downside momentum, especially during the final hour of trade.”