Markets at close: Indian benchmarks lost steam once again. The indices closed deep in the red after a choppy session. The Nifty 50 ended 241 points or 0.95% lower at 25,048, while the BSE Sensex dipped 770 points or 0.94% to finish at 81,538.
The Nifty Bank underperformed, falling 727 points or 1.23% to close at 58,473, while the Nifty Midcap 100 ended 1,045 points or 1.80% at 57,145.
For the week, the Nifty 50 closed 1.98% lower, while the Sensex finished 1.8% lower.
“Indian equity markets went on a sell-off mode despite an optimistic global market and supportive domestic PMI data. Sentiment weighed down on uptick crude oil prices, a sharp depreciation of the rupee to record lows, FII selling and earnings delivery falling marginally short of expectations amid premium India valuations,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.
Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Eternal, IndiGo, and Jio Financial Services were the major losers.
Markets at 1:15 PM: Markets are trading under pressure in afternoon trade, with the Sensex falling 515.89 points, or 0.63%, to 81,791.48, while the Nifty slipped 163.60 points, or 0.65%, to 25,126.30.
Markets at 12:00 PM: In afternoon trade, the Sensex was down 354.11 points, or 0.43%, at 81,953.26, while the Nifty slipped 99.90 points, or 0.40%, to 25,190.00.
Markets today at open, Jan 23: Indian equity benchmarks opened today’s trading session on a positive note. The Sensex began the day at 82,335.17 or 0.03%, while the Nifty also opened at around 25,291.35, up 0.01%.
“The pattern of sustained FII selling and DII buying, which dominated the market trend in 2025, has continued in 2026, too, so far. Whether this pattern will change with FIIs also turning buyers is the important question that investors have been asking for some time now. Partly, the Budget to be presented on February 1st will offer some insights, if there are some market-friendly proposals,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.
“More importantly, the FII stance towards India will be determined by the trend in India’s corporate earnings. Higher earnings growth alone can ensure sustained buying by FIIs since they have the option to invest in other markets where valuations are cheaper and earnings are better. Since earnings growth is sometime away and the FII selling strategy is expected to continue, preempting any healthy rally, the market is heavily net short. FIIs are adding to the short positions on every rally triggered by some positive news. The broader market, where FII presence is limited, is like to witness action in response to Q3 results,” he added
Key global and domestic cues to watch on January 23, 2025
GIFT Nifty indicated a firm opening for domestic equities on Friday, trading around the 25,400 level with gains of nearly 0.18% in early hours.
As the session unfolds, market participants are expected to track overseas developments, with cues from Asian peers and Wall Street in focus following recent tariff-related comments by US President Donald Trump. Fluctuations in the rupee and movements across commodity prices could also play a role in shaping intraday sentiment.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 moved up slightly by 0.09%, while the Topix gained 0.27%. South Korea saw stronger buying, with the Kospi rising 0.7% and the Kosdaq up 0.74%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat in early trading.
US markets
US markets closed higher across the board on January 20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.78 points, or 0.63%, to finish at 49,384.01. The S&P 500 added 0.55% to close at 6,913.35, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.91% and ended the day at 23,436.02.
US dollar
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was trading 0.07% higher at 98.33 on Friday morning. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies. The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc. The rupee depreciated 0.09% to close at 91.62 to the dollar on January 22.
Crude Oil
Crude oil prices edged up in early Friday trade. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose about 0.43% to trade near $59.62 per barrel, while Brent crude was up nearly 0.46% at around $64.35 per barrel.
FII, DII data
On January 22, foreign investors sold Indian shares worth Rs 2,550 crore. At the same time, domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 4,223 crore, according to provisional market data.
Gold rate today
Gold prices in India edged higher. On the MCX, February 5, 2026, gold futures were trading at Rs 1,56,540 per 10 grams in the latest update.
In the international market, gold was trading at $4,953 per ounce.
Top sectors in last trading session
In the last trading session, Plastics, rubber and packaging stocks saw gains in today’s session. The plastics sector moved up by 3.53%, while the rubber sector rose 3.48%. Packaging stocks also traded higher, marking a 3.35% increase.
Best and worst performing business group in last trading session
Shares of Garware Group, Jindal BC Group, and L G Balakrishnan Group moved higher, with their market capitalisation rising by 6.47%, 6.21%, and 4.50%, respectively in the last trading session. On the other hand, Anil Ambani Group, Manipal Group, and IIFL Group saw declines. Their market capitalisation fell by 2.25%, 2.93%, and 3.98%, respectively.