The stock market saw a significant downturn on Friday as global trade tensions escalated, with the US imposing a 10% tariff on imports from China. The bearish sentiment was further fueled by weak global cues and continued FII outflows, leading to a sharp decline in the equity benchmark indices.
Sensex dropped 1.90% to close at 73,198.10, while Nifty 50 fell 1.86% to 22,124.70. The Nifty midcap 100 and smallcap 100 indices also experienced losses of 2.49% and 3.01%, respectively.
All sectoral indices witnessed a sell-off, with Nifty IT taking a significant hit of 4.18% and the auto index dropping nearly 4%. Investors are also anxious about the potential imposition of tariffs on the European Union, adding to the market volatility.
In terms of top gainers and losers, Shriram Finance, HDFC Bank, Coal India, Trent, and Hindalco closed among the major gainers of the Nifty 50 pack, while IndusInd, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, and M&M were among the top losers.
The market also saw a disparity in the number of advancing and declining stocks, with only 490 stocks advancing on the NSE and 2,414 stocks depreciating out of a total of 2,972. Several stocks hit a 52-week low, including Adani Green Energy, ACC, IRFC, ABB India, and MobikWik.
On the BSE, Jindal Worldwide and Home First Finance rallied, while Redington and Granules ended lower. Overall, it was a challenging day for the stock market, with investors closely watching the upcoming Q3 GDP data for insights into the economic recovery trajectory.