The technical outlook remains challenging, with analysts noting that the Nifty is falling from the same supply zone of 25,500-25,800 that triggered sharp declines in October last year.
Markets extended their morning losses by mid-day Friday, with the Nifty falling over 200 points to breach the psychologically important 25,000 level as persistent foreign institutional investor selling and mixed earnings results weighed on investor sentiment.
The Nifty 50 index dropped 194.10 points or 0.77 per cent to 24,868.00 by 12.45 p.m., retreating from its opening level of 25,010.35. The broader Sensex declined 574.26 points or 0.70 per cent to 81,609.91, having opened at 82,065.76 against its previous close of 82,184.17.
Market breadth remained weak across the BSE, with 2,808 stocks declining against 1,043 advances out of 4,010 stocks traded. As many as 202 stocks hit their lower circuit limits while 168 reached upper circuits. The day also saw 55 stocks touching 52-week lows compared to 90 hitting 52-week highs.
Financial services stocks led the decline, with the Nifty Financial Services index falling 254.55 points or 0.94 per cent to 26,754.90. The banking index dropped 515.95 points or 0.90 per cent to 56,475.70. Mid-cap stocks also came under pressure, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index declining 783.65 points or 1.33 per cent to 58,134.90.
Among individual stocks, Shriram Finance emerged as the biggest loser on the Nifty 50, falling 4.30 per cent to ₹606.30. Bajaj Finance declined 4.12 per cent to ₹919.45, while Bajaj Finserv dropped 3.52 per cent to ₹1,960.70. IndusInd Bank fell 2.79 per cent to ₹824.25, and Bajaj Auto declined 2.29 per cent to ₹8,099.00.
On the positive side, SBI Life Insurance led the gainers with a 2.59 per cent rise to ₹1,840.00. HDFC Life Insurance gained 1.16 per cent to ₹766.10, while Dr Reddy’s Laboratories advanced 1.05 per cent to ₹1,278.80. Apollo Hospitals rose 0.98 per cent to ₹7,435.50, and UltraTech Cement gained 0.86 per cent to ₹12,332.00.
“The recent decline in the Nifty index below the 25,000 mark can be attributed to a combination of global and domestic factors,” said Pranay Aggarwal, Director and CEO of Stoxkart. “On the global front, continued foreign institutional investor outflows driven by interest rate uncertainty and geopolitical tensions have weighed on sentiment.”
Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, attributed the decline to continuous FII selling in both equity and futures markets. “FIIs remain uncomfortable with the valuations of the Indian equity market, even with improving macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators,” Meena said. He identified the immediate demand zone for Nifty between 24,800-24,735, with critical support at 24,500.
The technical outlook remains challenging, with analysts noting that the Nifty is falling from the same supply zone of 25,500-25,800 that triggered sharp declines in October last year. Upside movement appears capped around the 20-day moving average of 25,300, requiring a sustained move above this level for any positive momentum to emerge.
Published on July 25, 2025