Snapping the two-day rally, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Friday (November 21, 2025) mainly due to weak global trends and fading hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 400.76 points or 0.47% to settle at 85,231.92. During the day, it tanked 444.84 points or 0.51% to 85,187.84.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 124 points or 0.47% to 26,068.15. The index had rallied over 1% or 282 points to trade above 26,000 in the previous two sessions.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Electronics and Eternal were the major laggards.
However, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and ITC were among the gainers.
Analysts said better-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll data dampened expectations of a December rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Worries about a bubble in AI-related shares also dampened investor sentiment across global markets.
Asian markets ended sharply lower. South Korea’s Kospi tanked 3.79%, Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index lost 2.45%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.40% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by 2.38%.
European markets were trading in the red. U.S. markets ended in negative territory on Thursday (November 20). The Nasdaq Composite tanked 2.15%, S&P 500 declined 1.56%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.84%.
“Indian markets turned volatile and settled lower, reflecting the broader decline seen across Asian equities after better-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll data dampened the expectation of a December rate cut. Profit-booking after a brief two-day uptrend added to the cautious tone, pulling all key indices into the red, with mid and smallcaps facing sharper corrections,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The BSE smallcap and midcap indices declined 1.30% each.
All sectoral indices ended lower. Metal dropped 2.35%, followed by realty (1.89%), capital goods (1.79%), commodities (1.46%) and industrials (1.43%).
A total of 2,898 stocks declined while 1,278 advanced and 162 remained unchanged on the BSE.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 669.14 points or 0.79%, and the Nifty went up by 158.1 points or 0.61%.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹283.65 crore on Thursday (November 20), according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth ₹824.46 crore.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 1.51% to $62.42 per barrel.
On Thursday (November 20), the Sensex jumped 446.21 points or 0.52% to settle at 85,632.68. During the day, it surged 615.23 points or 0.72% to hit a 52-week high of 85,801.70. The Nifty also hit its 52-week high of 26,246.65 during the day before closing at 26,192.15, reflecting a gain of 139.50 points or 0.54%.
