Bears Back in Action, Sensex Tumbles 720 Pts, Nifty Down 200 Pts

Mumbai: Indian benchmark indices faced a setback on Friday, marking the end of a two-day uptrend as they closed lower in the early trading days of 2025. The BSE Sensex sank by 720.60 points, which is a drop of 0.90%, concluding at 79,223.11. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty 50 index also saw a decline, closing at 24,004.75 after losing 183.90 points or 0.76%. This downturn was primarily attributed to investors offloading shares in the banking and IT sectors as the market prepared for the earnings season set to begin next week. Consequently, the total market capitalization of all companies listed on the BSE shrunk by Rs 2.28 lakh crore, resulting in a total of Rs 449.72 lakh crore.

Within the Nifty 50, 32 stocks experienced declines, while only 18 managed to close in positive territory. Similarly, in the Sensex, just 13 out of 30 stocks showed gains.

This week, despite today's dip, the BSE benchmark still recorded an increase of 524.04 points or 0.66%, and the Nifty gained 191.35 points or 0.80%.

According to Prashanth Tapse, senior vice-president of research at Mehta Equities, "After a brief recovery over the last few sessions, the market lost its footing amid ongoing concerns related to slowing economic growth, elevated domestic valuations, outflows from foreign funds, and uncertainties surrounding U.S. trade policies following the resumed presidency of Donald Trump. It is anticipated that the market will continue to experience corrections, and investors are likely to maintain a cautious approach, keeping a close eye on global developments."

Among the major losers within the Sensex, Zomato Ltd plummeted by 4.27%, trading at Rs 273.40. Following closely was HDFC Bank, which fell by 2.46% to reach Rs 1749.30. Other notable declines included Tech Mahindra Ltd, down 2.23% at Rs 1,689, and Adani Ports, which decreased by 2.15% to Rs 1199.25.

On the flip side, the top gainers included Tata Motors, which rose by 3.33% to trade at Rs 790.40, and Titan, gaining 1.70% to reach Rs 3449.20. Other companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, and Reliance also contributed positively to the market.

The BSE midcap index dropped by 0.33% while the smallcap index witnessed a negligible decline of 0.02%. Various sectoral indices showed mixed results: the BSE Focused IT index fell by 1.42%, while IT and Teck sectors also faced declines of 1.31% and 1.13% respectively. Other sectors, including banks, capital goods, and financial services, decreased by over 1%. However, sectors such as energy, telecommunication, consumer durables, utilities, metal, and oil and gas saw some gains. It's worth noting that the previous session saw the BSE benchmark experience a significant surge, gaining 1,436.30 points or 1.83%, its best single-day increase in over a month, with the Nifty also soaring by 445.75 points or 1.88% to 24,188.65.

Sameet Chavan, Head of Research, Technical and Derivative at Angel One, advised caution to traders, saying, "In the face of temporary recoveries, it is prudent to avoid leveraged positions. This cautious stance could change if the Nifty breaks through the resistance levels between 24,500 and 24,800, which would prompt a pre-budget rally. Until that occurs, immediate resistance for the index is seen between 24,200 and 24,300."

Stocks, Market, Sensex