Markets fall nearly 1%, Sensex tanks 690 pts on selling in IT, auto stocks

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the third session in a row on Friday, dropping nearly 1 per cent, dragged by heavy selling in IT, auto and energy stocks amid a muted start of the earnings season.

Tariff-related uncertainties and mixed global market trends also added to the pressure, analysts said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 689.81 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 82,500.47. During the day, it fell 748.03 points or 0.89 per cent to 82,442.25.

As many as 2,450 stocks declined while 1,557 advanced and 158 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 205.40 points or 0.81 per cent to 25,149.85.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark dropped 932.42 points or 1.11 per cent, and the Nifty tanked 311.15 points or 1.22 per cent.

“While weak European market cues and negative US Dow Futures weighed on sentiment, the disappointing start to earnings season by software major TCS cautioned investors about the sluggish global demand scenario that led to heavy selling in IT, telecom, auto, realty and oil & gas stocks,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services declined 3.46 per cent after reporting its June quarter earnings.

The country’s largest IT services company on Thursday reported a 6 per cent growth in June quarter net profit at Rs 12,760 crore, helped by a jump in non-core income even as revenues grew at a

tepid pace.

The rupee revenue grew 1.3 per cent to Rs 63,437 crore during the quarter. Still, it was down by over 3 per cent on a constant currency basis, as the company faced headwinds in its major markets amid a winding down of the BSNL deal, which helped it in recent quarters.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Titan, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Trent, Infosys and HDFC Bank were among the other major laggards from the pack.

Meanwhile, shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) surged 4.61 per cent following the announcement that Priya Nair will become the first woman CEO and MD of the firm, effective August 1, 2025.

Axis Bank, NTPC, Eternal and State Bank of India were also among the gainers.

The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.70 per cent, and the midcap index dropped 0.65 per cent.

On BSE sectoral indicators, tech tumbled 1.85 per cent, BSE Focused IT tanked 1.77 per cent, IT (1.65 per cent), auto (1.72 per cent), oil & gas (1.28 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.23 per cent), and telecom (1.22 per cent).

In contrast, healthcare and FMCG were the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index settled lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended higher.

European markets were trading lower in mid-session trade.

The US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.31 per cent to $68.85 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 221.06 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, the Sensex dropped 345.80 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 83,190.28. On similar lines, the Nifty declined 120.85 points or 0.47 per cent to 25,355.25.