Markets Fall for Third Straight Day; Sensex Slumps 1,092 Points on Late Profit Booking

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex tumbled 1,092 points and Nifty closed below 24,550 on Friday due to last-minute profit booking in financials and oil & gas shares amid reports of a below-normal monsoon season rainfall.

Dragged by late selling, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 1,092.06 points, or 1.44 per cent, to settle at 74,775.74. The index opened higher and moved in a tight range for most of the session. However, heavy profit booking in Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, M&M and Bajaj Finance dragged the benchmark down by 1,278.69 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 74,589.11 in the pre-close session.

Falling for the third consecutive session, the 50-share NSE Nifty dived 359.40 points, or 1.50 per cent, to end at 23,547.75.

Among 30 Sensex firms, Power Grid, InterGlobe Aviation, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.

Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Larsen & Toubro and Infosys were the gainers.

"Markets witnessed a sharp bout of volatility in the final hour of trade on Friday, with benchmark indices erasing most of their intraday gains amid heavy institutional selling," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

"The sudden spike in volatility was largely attributed to the MSCI May 2026 index rebalancing, which triggered heavy passive institutional flows during the closing session. Additionally, weakness in heavyweight stocks such as Reliance and ITC, along with sustained pressure in banking majors including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, further intensified the decline," Mishra added.

The June-September southwest monsoon rainfall over India is expected to be 90 per cent of the long-period average with a model error of 4 per cent, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday. While the Northeast is likely to witness normal rainfall this monsoon season, the remaining parts of the country may see below normal rainfall, the weather office said.

LPA refers to the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval, such as a month or season, averaged over a long period of time, typically 30 to 50 years.

"The market witnessed broad-based selling pressure following the IMD's monsoon forecasts to 90 per cent of the long-period average, raising concerns among investors. The prospect of deficient rainfall, coupled with the increasing likelihood of an El Nino weather pattern, has heightened fears of elevated food inflation in the coming month," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

However, the downside risk appears partially mitigated by the recent moderation in crude oil prices and bond yields, he said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 1.52 per cent to USD 92.29 per barrel.

"Geopolitical uncertainty also continued to weigh on investor confidence. Although initial optimism emerged around a possible extension of the US-Iran ceasefire arrangement, the absence of formal confirmation from Washington kept global institutional investors cautious ahead of the weekend, limiting aggressive risk-taking across equities," Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.

The BSE SmallCap Select index tanked 1.26 per cent and MidCap Select index dropped 0.73 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, Oil & Gas tumbled 2.75 per cent, Metal (2.30 per cent), Utilities (2.23 per cent), Hospitals (2.16 per cent), Energy (2.08 per cent), Commodities (1.94 per cent), Auto (1.90 per cent) and Services (1.58 per cent).

IT, Telecommunication and Focused IT were the gainers.

A total of 2,599 stocks declined, while 1,670 advanced and 194 remained unchanged on the BSE. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark dropped 639.61 points, or 0.84 per cent, and the Nifty declined 171.55 points, or 0.72 per cent.

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

Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Stock markets were closed on Thursday for Eid-ul-Azha.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,042.70 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex declined 141.90 points, or 0.19 per cent, to settle at 75,867.80. The Nifty skidded 6.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to end at 23,907.15.