Mumbai, April 25 (IANS). The Indian stock market closed with a big fall this week due to increasing tension in West Asia, sharp rise in crude oil prices and heavy selling in IT stocks.
On a weekly basis, key benchmark indices Sensex closed down by 2.3 per cent and Nifty50 fell by 1.9 per cent.
However, midcap and smallcap stocks did not fall much. BSE Midcap index fell 0.6 percent and Smallcap index fell only 0.2 percent.
In terms of liquidity, foreign investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,369 crore this week, while domestic investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 9,782 crore.
Sector-wise, the IT sector was the most affected, with a decline of about 10 percent. The decline was due to companies forecasting weak quarterly results, although Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services reported decent results.
On the other hand, consumer sectors like FMCG performed well and companies showed double digit growth. The BFSI sector also remained stable, where asset quality remained healthy.
According to analysts, the market remained volatile throughout the week. In West Asia, there remained uncertainty among investors due to US-Iran tension and blockage in the Strait of Hormuz.
Due to the rise in crude oil prices and political uncertainty, investors did not make much purchases, due to which the market was seen trading in a limited range with a negative trend.
Analysts also said that continuous selling by foreign investors put pressure on the market, while buying by domestic investors managed the decline to some extent.
During this period, events in West Asia also weighed heavily on the market. Earlier, Iran announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, but later after the US action, sanctions were imposed again, due to which the prices of crude oil increased by 15 percent to $ 107 per barrel.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, further increasing uncertainty in the region.
Apart from this, investors are also keeping an eye on the results of the companies for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2026 i.e. January-March quarter.
On Friday, the last trading day of the week, BSE Sensex closed at 76,664.21 with a decline of 999.79 points or 1.29 percent, while NSE Nifty50 slipped 275.10 (1.14 percent) points to 23,897.95.
During the day’s trade, the 30-share Sensex opened at 77,483.80, falling 1,260 points or 1.6 per cent to the day’s low of 76,403.87, while the Nifty, which opened at 24,100.55, fell 359 points or 1.5 per cent to the day’s low of 23,813.65.
Next week, investors will keep an eye on India’s IIP data for March 2026, PMI data of the US, China and Japan and PCE inflation data of the US.
Also, major central banks like the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and the European Central Bank will announce their policies, on which the direction of the market will depend.
–IANS
DBP