Mumbai, March 28 : Domestic stock markets ended lower on the last trading day of the financial year 2024-25 due to global uncertainty over retaliatory tariffs by the US on Indian imports starting April 2. The benchmark Sensex slipped by 191 points while the Nifty dropped nearly 73 points in a volatile session.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 191.51 points or 0.25 percent lower at 77,414.92. During intraday trade, it fell as much as 420.81 points to 77,185.62. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 72.60 points or 0.31 percent to settle at 23,519.35.
Despite Friday’s losses, both indices ended the fiscal year on a positive note. The Sensex rose by 3,763.57 points or 5.10 percent during FY24, while the Nifty gained 1,192.45 points or 5.34 percent. Markets will remain closed on Monday for Eid-ul-Fitr.
Among the Sensex constituents, shares of IndusInd Bank declined by over 3.5 percent, while Mahindra & Mahindra slipped more than two percent. Other laggards included HCL Tech, Maruti, Infosys, Zomato, Power Grid, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, and UltraTech Cement.
On the other hand, stocks of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Nestle, and Bharti Airtel ended with gains.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, noted that Asian markets witnessed fresh volatility amid fears of significant impacts on major manufacturing economies following the latest US tariff measures. He added that on the domestic front, the market rally has slowed as investors assess the effects of the tariff announcement on the auto, pharma, and other sectors.
The BSE Midcap index dropped 0.68 percent, while the Smallcap index fell by 0.35 percent.
Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said that the market remained range-bound and closed lower by nearly half a percent, as investors await fresh triggers. The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tariffs is capping the upward momentum, he said.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex gained 509.41 points or 0.66 percent, while the Nifty rose by 168.95 points or 0.72 percent.
Asian markets, including South Korea's KOSPI, Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, closed sharply lower. European markets were trading in negative territory, and US markets also closed lower on Thursday.
As per exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) made net purchases worth Rs 11,111.25 crore on Thursday.
In commodities, global benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.18 percent to USD 74.16 per barrel.
On Thursday, the BSE Sensex had climbed 317.93 points to 77,606.43, while the NSE Nifty advanced by 105.10 points to 23,591.95.
