New Delhi: Indian stock indices declined during Friday's session and logged weekly losses, with multiple sectoral indices slumping sharply. Auto, media, pharma, PSU Bank, realty, healthcare, oil and gas, were some of them, NSE data showed. Sensex closed the day at 76,190.46 points, down 329.92 points or 0.43 percent, while Nifty closed at 23,092.20 points, down 113.15 points or 0.49 percent. Sensex now remains around 10,000 points lower than its all-time high of 85,978 points in September last. Sensex has so far slumped 3 percent this New Year. Indian markets are witnessing volatility amid uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's policies. Investors anticipate potential disruptions to global trade during Trump presidency. Weak domestic economic growth, selling by foreign portfolio investors, have also been reflecting on the stock markets. In 2024, Sensex and Nifty accumulated a growth of about 9-10 per cent each. In 2023, Sensex and Nifty gained 16-17 percent, on a cumulative basis. In 2022, they gained a mere 3 percent each. Weak GDP growth, foreign fund outflows, rising food prices, and slow consumption were some of the hurdles, keeping many investors at bay in 2024. "FIIs will continue to sell putting pressure on largecaps like banking. The irrationality in the market characterized by fair and even low valuations for largecaps like banking and excessive valuations in the broader market will have to reverse at some point of time. But we don't know when that will happen," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. "The Q3 results of IT companies and the management commentary indicating improving prospects for the sector suggest that the sector is a safe bet now," said Vijayakumar. Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, said, multiple events including global events, upcoming Union Budget, RBI policy and ongoing Q3FY25 season will continue to shape market movements over the next fortnight. Indian equity markets continued its underperformance versus most global markets this week. Broader market remained weak with the midcap and the smallcap indices underperforming the larger peers. Majority of the sectoral indices ended the week in the red with BSE realty index witnessing sharp correction. BSE IT index was an outlier as it performed strongly in a relatively weak market. FII continue to remain net seller of Indian equity, adding pressure on the market performance. Q3FY25 earnings season has largely in line with our subdued expectations. INR appreciated marginally and Brent crude has corrected this week," Chouhan said. Going ahead, Budget 2025 and the major announcements will be closely watched by market participants.
