Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower for 6th consecutive session on Friday, with both the Nifty and Sensex tumbling near day’s low points, primarily driven by heavy selling in IT and pharma stocks, along with continued outflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Markets made a gap down opening and remained under selling pressure throughout the session, as traders were cautious after the Trump administration said it would impose new tariffs on heavy trucks, drugs and kitchen cabinets.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Sustained FIIs outflows: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,995.42 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. 

US H-1B visa move to impact Indian IT majors' profit margins by only 0.20%: Traders took note of Crisil Intelligence in its note has said that US President Donald Trump's move to levy higher fees for granting the H-1B visas will impact Indian IT majors' profit margins by only 0.20%.  

Pharma stocks were in focus: Sentiments remained downbeat as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs, and said that the United States will impose a 100 percent tariff on imported branded drugs, 25 percent tariff on imports of all heavy-duty trucks and 50 percent tariff on kitchen cabinets. 

Global front: European markets were trading in green, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats. Asian markets ended mostly in red amid Singapore's industrial production declined in August on sharp contraction in biomedical manufacturing.

The BSE Sensex ended at 80426.46, down by 733.22 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 80332.41 and 81033.09. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.96%, while Small cap index down by 2.05%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom down by 2.69%, IT down by 2.41%, Consumer Durables down by 2.34%, Healthcare down by 2.14% and TECK down by 2.03%, while there was no winning sectoral index on the BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.77%, Tata Motors up by 1.47%, ITC up by 1.21%, Reliance Industries up by 0.48% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.18%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.62%, Tata Steel down by 2.84%, Eternal down by 2.83%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.75% and Asian Paints down by 2.62% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India's resilience stands out due to its strong macroeconomic fundamentals amid increasing global uncertainties. She said the uncertainty in the global environment has increased over the past year, and its impact is being felt across countries. She noted ‘But amidst all these uncertain global situations, India's resilience stands out and several favourable factors, such as strong macroeconomic fundamentals, a young demography, and greater reliance on domestic demand, provide the core strength to the Indian economy’. She said the economic resilience has continued, particularly in the April-June quarter this year, as well, where India's GDP has grown by 7.8 per cent.

She said ‘India's resilience is not accidental. They reflect proactive fiscal and monetary policies, bold structural reforms, massive infrastructure creation, both physical and digital, improved governance and enhanced competitiveness over the last decade’. She also highlighted that S&P upgraded India's sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' (from BBB-) in August 2025 after 18 years, and Morningstar DBRS upgraded India to 'BBB' from BBB (low) in May 2025. Recently, Japanese credit rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I) upgraded India's long-term sovereign credit rating to 'BBB+' from 'BBB'.

She further said that with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global landscape, the role of banks becomes even more critical, not just as custodians of savings, but as engines of growth, providing the finance and support that businesses and entrepreneurs need to navigate volatility, seize opportunities and drive innovation. She said ‘One principle, which we can never forget to adhere to, is adhering to the core principle of customer trust, which is the foundation of banking’. She emphasised that every complaint must be seen as an opportunity to improve, innovate and reinforce trust.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24654.70, down by 236.15 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 24629.45 and 24868.60. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.71%, Tata Motors up by 1.36%, ITC up by 1.25%, Eicher Motors up by 0.70% and Reliance Industries up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.78%, Tata Steel down by 2.91%, Eternal down by 2.84% and Bajaj Finance down by 2.74% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 34.17 points or 0.37% to 9,248.15, Germany’s DAX gained 80.37 points or 0.34% to 23,615.20 and France’s CAC rose 22.38 points or 0.29% to 7,817.80.

Asian markets settled mostly down on Friday tracking Wall Street’s overnight fall as investors lowered expectations for significant Federal Reserve interest rate cuts following stronger-than-anticipated economic data. Investors also awaited key US inflation reading later in the day for more clues on the outlook for rates. Market sentiments weakened further as Trump revealed plans to levy a 100% duties on imported branded drugs, 25% tariffs on heavy-duty trucks and 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets. All new duties will take effect on October 1. South Korean shares experienced a significant decline and snapped a four-week rally, due to uncertainty surrounding trade talks with Washington and due to profit taking ahead of the Chuseok holiday. Hong Kong shares dropped on valuation and tariff jitters.