Sensex falls 450 points, Nifty slips below 22,500 as oil tops $113; Jio IPO in focus

Indian stock markets came under renewed selling pressure on Friday as the Nifty 50 slipped below the 22,500 mark and the Sensex fell more than 450 points in morning trade. Rising crude oil prices, weakness across banking and metal stocks, and continued pressure on the broader market weighed on investor sentiment.

At 10:40 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 72,797.49, down 451.90 points or 0.62 per cent from its previous close of 73,249.39. The index had opened at 73,665.64 and touched an intraday high of 73,766.51 before falling to a low of 72,487.47.

The NSE Nifty 50 was at 22,495.85, down 191.80 points or 0.85 per cent. The index had opened at 22,742.20 and moved between an intraday high of 22,787.25 and a low of 22,407.05.

Market breadth remained firmly negative. On the Nifty 50, 44 stocks were trading lower, while only six were in positive territory at the time of the latest available data.

Why are Indian stock markets falling today?

Crude oil prices remained a key concern for investors, with Brent crude trading above $113 per barrel, according to market updates. Higher oil prices can increase India’s import bill, put pressure on the rupee and raise the risk of imported inflation, complicating the outlook for corporate earnings and the economy.

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The Indian currency opened at Rs 94.79 against the US dollar on Friday, compared with Thursday’s close of Rs 94.82, according to market updates.

By around 10:24 am, 97 constituents of both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 were declining. As many as 478 stocks in the Nifty 500 were trading lower, while 91 had touched their 52-week lows, according to CNBC-TV18’s live market updates.

The pressure on smaller companies suggests that the sell-off was not limited to a handful of heavyweight stocks.

Nifty IT stocks buck the broader market trend’

Information technology shares were among the few bright spots in early trade, supported by a shift in global market sentiment towards technology stocks amid an anti-AI trade in some segments of the market.

At 10:40 am, Tata Consultancy Services was up 1.96 per cent at Rs 2,552.15. HCL Technologies gained 0.23 per cent to Rs 1,429.35, while Infosys rose 0.12 per cent to Rs 1,152.40.

The gains offered some support to the Sensex, but were not enough to offset losses across banking, metals, automobiles and other sectors.

Tata Steel was among the worst-performing Sensex constituents, falling 3.62 per cent to Rs 166.55. Titan declined 2.60 per cent, while Bharat Electronics fell 2.57 per cent. Adani Ports was down 2.50 per cent and NTPC lost 2.42 per cent.

Among banking stocks, State Bank of India fell 1.24 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 1.10 per cent and HDFC Bank slipped 0.71 per cent.

Swiggy, metals and defence stocks under pressure

Swiggy shares remained in focus after the food delivery company reported its quarterly results, with the stock facing additional pressure following brokerage target cuts. The shares fell around 9 per cent in early trade and touched a fresh 52-week low, according to CNBC-TV18.

Metal stocks also came under pressure, with aluminium-related shares declining more than 2 per cent in morning trade. Tata Steel and Hindalco were among the notable losers in the broader market.

Defence and power equipment stocks weakened as well. ABB India and Hitachi Energy India fell around 5 per cent each, while GE Vernova T&D India declined around 10 per cent, reflecting pressure on several market segments beyond the headline indices.

Investors were also monitoring quarterly earnings announcements and company-specific developments for clues about the outlook for corporate profits.

Jio Platforms IPO enters final day

The weakness in the secondary market coincided with the final day of bidding for the Jio Platforms initial public offering (IPO).

As of 9:06 am on Friday, the issue had been subscribed 5.63 times, according to the latest figures in CNBC-TV18’s market updates. The qualified institutional buyer portion was subscribed 13.29 times, the non-institutional investor segment 6.17 times and the retail portion 1.57 times.

The offering remained a major primary-market event as investors weighed demand for the telecom and digital services business against broader market volatility.