Overview
- India’s benchmarks closed lower for a fifth session, with the Sensex at 83,576 and the Nifty at 25,683, capping a weekly drop of about 2.5%.
- More than Rs 12 lakh crore in market value has been erased in recent sessions and market breadth deteriorated sharply, including 273 stocks hitting 52-week lows on the BSE.
- Risk sentiment weakened after a Trump-backed bill proposing tariffs of up to 500% on buyers of Russian oil and fresh comments about stalled India–US trade talks, with attention on the pending US court ruling on tariffs.
- Foreign institutional investors extended net selling (about Rs 3,367 crore on Thursday) even as domestic institutions bought selectively, intensifying pressure on equities.
- Brokerages flagged stretched valuations and a muted Q3 setup, advising a selective or defensive stance, with Bernstein projecting modest Nifty returns to end-2026.