Bourses snap 3-day rally amid heavy selling pressure in metal, IT and commodity stocks

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday, snapping a three-day rally, due to heavy selling pressure in metal, IT and commodity stocks as investors booked profits at higher levels ahead of the Budget 2026-27.

However, buying on select blue-chip counters restricted the sharp fall in domestic equities amid prolonged weakness in the rupee, traders said.

As a bearish trend gripped the street, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 296.59 points, or 0.36 per cent, to settle at 82,269.78. During the day, it tumbled 625.34 points or 0.75 per cent to 81,941.03.

A total of 2,424 stocks advanced while 1,783 declined and 160 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 98.25 points or 0.39 per cent to end at 25,320.65 in a volatile session.

Among the Sensex firms, Tata Steel suffered the most, tanking by 4.57 per cent. ICICI Bank, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, ITC and Bharat Electronics were among the gainers.

Among sectoral indices, metal tanked 5.12 per cent, commodities (2.56 per cent), oil & gas (0.88 per cent), energy (0.87 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.86 per cent) and BSE Private Banks Index (0.63 per cent).

Telecommunication jumped 2.17 per cent, FMCG (1.48 per cent), healthcare (1.05 per cent), capital goods (1 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.87 per cent) and consumer durables (0.85 per cent).

Indian stock markets will hold a special session on Sunday for Budget 2026-27.

India’s economy is projected to grow by 6.8-7.2 per cent in the fiscal year starting April, the government’s pre-Budget Economic Survey said on Thursday, reaffirming the country’s status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy despite trade risks and global volatility clouding the outlook.

FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 393.97 crore on Thursday after a day’s breather, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 2,638.76 crore.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 0.88 per cent to $70.09 per barrel.

On Thursday, the Sensex climbed 221.69 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 82,566.37. The Nifty edged higher by 76.15 points or 0.30 per cent to end at 25,418.90.