| The key equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Friday, weighed down by a steep sell-off in IT stocks that dented investor sentiment amid rising concerns over AI-led disruption and its potential impact on traditional outsourcing models. The Nifty closed below the 25,500 mark.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 1,048.16 points or 1.25% to 82,626.76. The Nifty 50 index tanked 336.10 points or 1.30% to 25,471.10.
The broader market underperformed the headline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index dropped 1.58% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index slipped 1.50%. The market breadth was weak.
Among the sectoral indices, the PSU Bank index (down 0.68%), the Nifty Media index (down 0.76%) and the Nifty Healthcare index (down 0.85%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal index (down 3.31%), the Nifty Realty index (down 2.23%) and the Nifty Oil & Gas index (down 1.88%) underperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.10% to 6.679 compared with previous session close of 6.686.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.6500 compared with its close of 90.6100 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 0.74% to Rs 153,970.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 97.07.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.39% to 4.120.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 29 cents or 0.43% to $67.81 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Most European shares advanced on Friday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data, due later today.
Asian markets ended lower, tracking Wall Street declines, as fears over artificial intelligence disruption drove the S&P 500 to a third straight day of losses.
Certain pockets of the U.S. stock market have been hit this year by the release of AI tools that threaten to automate tasks performed by some companies—or at least risk eating into their profit margins.
Overnight on Wall Street, US stocks fell sharply Thursday as the market punished companies seen as potential losers from artificial-intelligence technology.
The S&P 500 fell 108.71 points to 6,832.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 669.42 to 49,451.98, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 469.32 to 22,597.15. |