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Stock Market Closing Bell: Indian equities ended lower on Friday, as the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty gave up gains after hovering near record highs in the previous session.

The rally that had gathered momentum on Thursday lost steam amid fading optimism over a potential US-India trade deal, following the government’s reluctance to confirm reports of an imminent agreement.

The Sensex closed 344.52 points lower at 84,211.88, while the Nifty 50 fell 96.25 points to 25,795.15, marking a pause in the market’s recent six-day winning streak.

Investors booked profits at higher levels after sharp gains earlier in the week, turning cautious amid mixed global cues.

Traders awaited clarity on the US economic outlook, including interest rate direction, which contributed to subdued sentiment.

Selling pressure was visible across banking, IT, and auto stocks, although selective buying in pharma and energy counters limited overall losses.

Market experts described the decline as largely technical, suggesting a short-term consolidation after the recent strong uptrend.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with weakness in FMCG, healthcare, and private banks leading the decline. Hindustan Unilever ended the day 3.30 per cent lower, while UltraTech Cement fell 1.92 per cent, Adani Ports lost 1.75 per cent, and Titan slipped 1.57 per cent.

Private banks, including Kotak Bank (-1.44 per cent), Axis Bank (-1.43 per cent), HDFC Bank (-1.29 per cent), and SBI (-0.91 per cent) faced selling pressure as investors trimmed positions.

On the other hand, metals and energy stocks showed resilience. Tata Steel closed marginally up at 174.35 (+0.14 per cent), while Nifty Metal rose 1.03 per cent, and Nifty Energy ended flat at 35,626.90, highlighting pockets of buying interest.

Among Sensex gainers, ICICI Bank rose 1.06 per cent to 1,378, Bharti Airtel added 0.95 per cent to 2,027.50, BEL gained 0.84 per cent to 422, Sun Pharma climbed 0.72 per cent to 1,701.15, and ITC rose 0.42 per cent to 417.60.

Reliance Industries held onto small gains at 1,450.50 (+0.17 per cent), and M&M closed 3627.70 (+0.14 per cent), showing selective buying in fundamentally strong names.

The broader markets also reflected cautious trading. Nifty Next 50 ended at 69,355.90 (-0.11 per cent), Nifty Midcap 50 at 16,736.80 (-0.37 per cent), and Nifty Smallcap indices were down around 0.15–0.35 per cent.

Nifty 100 fell 0.33 per cent to 26,402.80, Nifty 200 slipped 0.31 per cent to 14,351.40, and Nifty 500 lost 0.29 per cent to 23,686.60.

Sectoral indices presented a mixed picture with Nifty Realty rising slightly to 940.90 (+0.18 per cent) and Nifty Oil & Gas inching up to 11,624.05 (+0.20 per cent), while Nifty Bank, FMCG, Healthcare, Private Bank, and IT indices ended in the red, showing cautious investor participation.

Anubhav Maurya is a Senior Sub-Editor at Zee Business, focusing on the stock market, personal finance, corporate news, and related sectors.

He has previously worked wi