Benchmark equity indices extended their decline for a fifth consecutive session on Friday, recording their worst weekly performance in three months (since September 26, 2025), as investors remained in a risk-off mode amid persistent uncertainty over US–India trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical tensions, particularly concerns over potential US trade measures linked to Russia-related sanctions.
Adding to the unease, India VIX surged 16% during the week to close near the 11 mark, signalling a sharp rise in market volatility.
Extending losses on Friday, the Sensex fell 604.72 points, or 0.72%, to close at 83,576.24, while the Nifty declined 193.55 points, or 0.75%, to end at 25,683.30. This marked a decline across all five trading sessions during the week. On a weekly basis, the Sensex and Nifty shed 2.55% (2,186 points) and 2.45% (645 points), respectively.
Investors lost ₹13.52 lakh crore in market capitalisation during the week, of which ₹12.2 lakh crore was wiped out over the past two trading sessions alone. So far in the first nine days of the current calendar year, total market capitalisation has declined by ₹8.07 lakh crore — marking a record fall for this period.
Nifty Slips Below Key Support
“The markets remained under pressure for the fifth consecutive session, with the Nifty slipping below the 25,700 mark and forming a bearish candlestick on the daily chart,” said Nilesh Jain, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research (Equity Research), Centrum Broking.
Although the index attempted a pullback, it faced stiff resistance near the 50-day moving average (DMA) around the 25,960 level. The next crucial support lies at the 100-DMA near 25,540, and as long as the index holds above this zone, a pullback towards 25,900 cannot be ruled out, Jain added.
Looking ahead, clarity on global trade dynamics and the ongoing Q3 earnings season will shape market direction, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments. Volatility is likely to persist in the near term, particularly in US-exposed companies and sectors such as metals and oil & gas. Investors are also tracking the Q3FY26 earnings of TCS and HCL Technologies scheduled for release on Monday.
Market breadth remained sharply negative for the second consecutive session, with 3,195 losers against 990 gainers on the BSE. The broader indices also came under pressure, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap declining 0.90% and 1.74%, respectively, on Friday, and 2.45% and 3.87%, respectively, during the week.
Institutional Divergence and Sectoral Impact
Foreign portfolio investors offloaded shares worth $955 million (₹8,597 crore) during the week, while domestic institutional investors infused ₹15,700 crore over the same period. On Friday alone, FPIs sold equities worth $418 million (₹3,769 crore), while DIIs bought shares worth ₹5,596 crore, as per provisional BSE data.
Oil & gas, metal and realty were the worst-performing sectors during the week, declining by up to 5.76%.
Trent, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, InterGlobe Aviation and Power Grid were the top Sensex laggards, falling by up to 9.82% over the week.