Friday brought red hues to Dalal Street, with the Sensex closing 296.59 points lower at 82,269.78 (down 0.36%) and Nifty at 25,320.65 (off 98.25 points or 0.39%). Heightened uncertainty ahead of the Union Budget fueled the day’s caution.
The metal sector’s meltdown was stark, Nifty Metal crashing 5.21%, followed by commodities (-2.13%), IT (-1.03%), PSE (-0.90%), and services (-0.64%). These drags pulled the benchmarks into loss territory despite resilient pockets.
Uplifting performers included media (+1.85%), defence (+1.43%), FMCG (+1.37%), consumer durables (+1.08%), realty (+0.84%), and auto (+0.73%). Smallcaps split ways: Nifty Smallcap 100 eased 0.19% to 58,432, another gained 0.32% to 16,879.10.
Sensex winners: M&M, SBI, ITC, BEL, HUL, Titan, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports. The underperformers: Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, TCS.
‘Budget anticipation mixed with metal sector purge on strong dollar—gold and silver nosedived,’ opined market watchers. Volatility is the new normal as fiscal policies hang in balance.
Globally, US lawmakers’ shutdown pact calmed nerves temporarily, but Fed transition risks loom. A hawkish stance could tighten conditions, slamming emerging market assets including Indian equities.
The session kicked off bearishly: Sensex -444 points (0.54%) at 82,100, Nifty -157 points (0.62%) at 25,261 around 9:19 AM. Intraday bounces fizzled out against persistent selling. Forward outlook hinges on budget deliverables—think capex surge, tax relief, and sector incentives to spark a rally.