Benchmark indices slumped as much as 1.7% on Friday—their steepest decline in two months—as crude oil prices spiked over 13% following Israel’s airstrikes on Iran’s military and nuclear installations. However, markets recovered more than half of their losses by the close, ending the session down around 0.70% amid selective buying in heavyweight stocks.
The Sensex fell 1,337.39 points or 1.64% to hit an intraday low of 80,354.59, but later recovered to close at 81,118.60, down 573.38 points or 0.70%. The Nifty also declined 415.20 points or 1.67% to touch an intraday low of 24,473, before ending the day at 24,715.60—down 169.60 points or 0.68%.
Brent crude prices surged 13.48% to $78.50 per barrel—its highest level since January 28, 2025—before paring gains to trade at $74.81, up 7.86%, marking the largest single-day rise since March 17, 2022.
“Indian equity benchmarks came under pressure due to weak global cues and sustained foreign institutional outflows. Sentiment was further dented by heightened geopolitical tensions after Israel’s military strike on Iran, increasing investor risk aversion,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
He added that although India’s consumer price index (CPI) for May eased below the RBI’s comfort level, providing a favourable macro signal, this was largely overshadowed by external headwinds.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,263.52 crore while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 3,041.44 crore, according to provisional data by the BSE.
“After a sharp gap-down opening of 415 points due to heightened geopolitical tensions, the Nifty staged a steady recovery throughout the session. Despite the rebound, the index ended with a 169-point (0.68%) loss, closing at 24,718,” said Nandish Shah, deputy vice president, HDFC Securities.
Most equity indices in Europe and Asia traded in the red. Market breadth was negative, with 2,469 losers versus 1,516 gainers on the BSE. Investor wealth declined by ₹2.37 lakh crore, bringing total market capitalisation on the BSE to ₹447.21 lakh crore.
The broader markets showed relative resilience, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices falling by 0.32% and 0.30%, respectively.
Sectorally, services, banking, FMCG, utilities, and financial services were the top laggards, declining up to 2.06%.
Among Sensex constituents, Adani Ports, ITC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, and HDFC Bank were the top losers, shedding up to 2.71%.
Shares of state-run oil marketing companies underperformed the broader market. IOCL dropped as much as 4.18% intraday before halving its losses. BPCL and HPCL declined 6.10% and 5.71%, respectively, during intraday trade. In contrast, ONGC gained 3.26% intraday and closed up 1.46%.
For the week, the Sensex and Nifty declined by 1.3% and 1.14%, respectively, while the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap fell 0.90% and 0.13%.