Sensex falls 721 points led by banking, tech stocks

Frontline stock market indices on Friday fell by about 1% due to selling pressure led by banking and technology stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed with a loss of 720.60 points or 0.90% at 79,223.11 points.

The Sensex stocks which lost the most included Zomato (4.27%), HDFC Bank (2.46%), Tech Mahindra (2.19%), Adani Ports (2.15%), TCS (2.03%) and ICICI Bank (1.97%).

The NSE Nifty-50 index also fell 184 points or 0.76% to 24,004.75 points.

Devarsh Vakil, deputy head retail research, HDFC Securities said, “Markets retreated from their recent recovery momentum. The five consecutive down sessions in U.S. markets dampened sentiment from the opening bell.”

“Despite a marginally positive start, the Nifty soon turned negative as profit booking emerged throughout the session. Trading activity remained robust, with NSE cash market volumes increasing 7% compared to the previous day,” he said.

Broader markets showed relative resilience, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap 100 indices declining by 0.3% and 0.24% respectively, outperforming the benchmark’s 0.76% fall.

Market breadth remained positive for the fourth consecutive session, with an advance-decline ratio of 1.13.

“Among sectors, Media, Oil & Gas, and Consumer Durables led the gainers, while IT, Pharmaceuticals, and Banking sectors faced the strongest selling pressure,” Mr. Vakil said.