Sensex drops 200 pts, Nifty near 25K as Tech, Financials weigh

The Indian equity benchmarks traded lower on Friday,with Nifty around 25,000 amid selling pressure in heavyweight IT names, SBI, and Bharti Airtel. At close, the Sensex was down 200.15 points or 0.24 percent at 82,330.59, and the Nifty was down 42.30 points or 0.17 percent at 25,019.80. About 2525 shares advanced, 1312 shares declined, and 134 shares unchanged.
Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Auto, Adani Enterprises, Tata Consumer, Eternal were top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel, Infosys, SBI, HCL Technologies. On the sectoral front, media, power, PSU, realty, capital goods indices up 1-1.7 percent, while IT index down nearly 1 percent. Broader indices outperformed the main indices with BSE Midcap index rising 0.8 percent and smallcap index added 1 percent.
Market This Week:
●Nifty & Sensex up 4% each,
●Broader markets see big buying this week
●Midcap index records biggest weekly gain in last 2 months, up 7%
Rupee Close:
On 16 May'25,the Indian rupee rose 1 paisa to settle at 85.53 against the greenback on Friday on the back of strong FII inflows and a marginal decline in the dollar index.The rupee's gain was curtailed due to higher Brent crude prices, negative domestic equity markets, and government data that showed the country' trade deficit widening in April, according to forex traders.
Trading Guide:
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments reportedly quoted as saying,the market witnessed mild profit booking following a sharp rally in the previous session. Despite this, investor sentiment remained upbeat, with sustained momentum in mid- and small-cap stocks, as well as rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, NBFCs, automobiles, and consumer durables. Defence stocks also continued their upward trajectory, supported by a strong sectoral outlook. Optimism is being fuelled by expectations of imminent resolutions in US-China and India-US trade relations, which are easing concerns over potential economic fallout.
Additionally, softening crude oil prices, moderating inflation, and growing anticipation of interest rate cuts are reinforcing confidence in the economic growth outlook, driving a broad-based market resurgence. Institutional flows remain robust, with both Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) contributing to market stability and resilience.
Market experts recommended five shares to buy -Blue Jet Healthcare, Steelcast, Cochin Shipyard, SML Isuzu, and Anupam Rasayan India.

(Business Correspondent)