8 hours ago
Indian equity benchmarks ended the week sharply lower, with the Sensex and Nifty falling about 3% each to mark their biggest weekly decline in more than a year as escalating tensions in West Asia weighed on sentiment.
All sectoral indices ended in the red during the week, with financials emerging as the biggest drag. The Nifty Bank index recorded its steepest weekly fall in 14 months, while the Nifty PSU Bank index dropped more than 6%, logging its biggest weekly decline in a year.
Broader market weakness was visible across the benchmark index, with 42 Nifty stocks delivering negative returns during the week and 21 stocks falling between 4% and 9%.
Also Read: Nykaa shares fall as Macquarie flags 18% downside on the stock; check target price
On Friday (March 6), markets extended losses amid broad-based selling. The Sensex fell 1,097 points to close at 78,919, while the Nifty declined 315 points to settle at 24,450, slipping below the 24,500 mark.
Banking stocks led the fall, dragging the benchmarks lower. The Nifty Bank index dropped 1,273 points to 57,783, marking its biggest single-day fall since April 2025. Heavyweights such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank weighed on the Nifty. Among Nifty constituents, 40 stocks ended lower. ICICI Bank, Eternal, Shriram Finance and Axis Bank were among the top losers.
From the Sensex basket, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd and NTPC Ltd were the major gainers. ICICI Bank Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank Ltd and UltraTech Cement Ltd were the biggest laggards.
The broader market also weakened, with the Nifty Midcap index declining 399 points to 57,393. Market breadth remained negative, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 2:3 in favour of declines.
Also Read: Meesho shares up 7% in two sessions; Here's why Monday's session is important
Among individual stocks, PB Fintech slipped 3% after 48.40 lakh shares worth ₹695 crore changed hands in the block deal window. Ashok Leyland, Godrej Properties and HPCL were among the top midcap losers, declining up to 4%. Nykaa fell more than 2% after Macquarie flagged an 18% downside on the stock.
Defence stocks, however, bucked the broader weakness. The defence index gained nearly 6% during the week, with Paras Defence and Solar Industries among the top gainers.
DCX Systems rose 6% after the company secured an order worth ₹68 crore from HAL. Mazagon Dock also extended gains, rising more than 15% over two sessions amid expectations of strong order wins.
For the week, IndiGo, Tata Motors PV, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Life Insurance, Tata Steel and Jio Financial Services were among the top losers on the Nifty. In the midcap segment, LTIMindtree, Petronet LNG, Lodha, Indian Oil Corporation, KPIT Technologies and RVNL were among the key laggards.
Also Read: Where is the Nifty headed next? Top CLSA chartist answers
Asian shares were mixed on Friday following a mild retreat on Wall Street, while the price of oil fell more than $1 after reaching the highest level since the summer of 2024.
In Asian trading, South Korea’s Kospi edged up less than 0.1% to 5,584.87, after a roller coaster week with a record 12% loss on Wednesday, followed by a nearly 10% rebound on Thursday. The index had shot above 6,000 in recent weeks before the war began to rattle financial markets.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 55,620.84. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 25,732.75, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.4% to 4,124.19.
