India's equity market fell sharply again on Friday after a small recovery on Thursday.
At the close, the Sensex declined 769.67 points (0.94%) to 81,537.70, while the Nifty fell 241.25 points (0.95%) to 25,048.65. For the week, both the Sensex and the Nifty registered losses of around 2.5% each.
Friday’s fall came despite an optimistic global market and supportive domestic PMI data.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments stated that sentiments 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.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue offloading Indian equities, with net sales of Rs 36,591 crore in January 2026 alone. This aggressive selling has intensified pressure on the domestic market and local currency.
The rupee, meanwhile, hit a record intraday low of 91.97 against the dollar on Friday before closing at 91.96, down from 91.62.
The equity market is having a turbulent start to 2026 with US President Donald Trump's foreign and tariff policies denting investor sentiment. Actions like arresting Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, confronting Iran, threatening 500% tariffs on nations buying Russian oil and pushing to claim Greenland while targeting European allies with duties have spiked geopolitical tensions.
These moves have amplified market volatility amid ongoing trade uncertainties. So far in 2026, benchmark indices—BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty—have fallen about 4.2%-4.3%.
Meanwhile, Adani stocks fell up to 14% on Friday and the group shed more than Rs 1 lakh crore in market cap after the US markets regulator asked a court for permission to personally email summons to founder Gautam Adani and group executive Sagar Adani over alleged fraud and a $265 million bribery scheme.
The US SEC told a court in Brooklyn, New York, that it has been unable to secure assistance from Indian authorities in delivering the summons.
Thereafter, the regulator has sought permission to serve the notices to Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani through email. The lawsuit was filed in November 2024, accusing Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani of flouting US securities laws by making false and misleading statements related to Adani Green Energy Ltd.
Coming to equity market performance, the broader market underperformed the benchmarks, with the midcap index sliding 1.8% and the small-cap index dropping 1.95%.
Sector-wise, the Realty index emerged as the top loser (-3.3%), extending its sharp correction for the week. The realty index declined 9.2% over the week, marking its steepest weekly fall in nearly 11 months, as concerns around slowing housing sales amidst weak demand weighed on sentiment, according to Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Khemka added that on the macro front, markets will closely monitor the US Consumer confidence data to be announced on Tuesday, the US Fed interest rate decision and the Union budget 2026 will remain the key market triggers next week.
He said that the markets will continue to track developments around global trade negotiations and geopolitical dynamics, while stock-specific action is expected to remain driven by ongoing Q3 earnings announcements.
Shares of Adani Enterprises plunged nearly 11%to Rs 1,863 apiece, Adani Power fell 5%, Adani Ports plunged 7%, and Adani Total Gas by 5.3%.
Adani Green Energy tanked 14% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5 crore in Q3FY26, down 99% year-on-year.
Shares of Adani Energy Solutions fell 11% to Rs 827.20 after the company reported 8% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 574.06 crore in Q3FY26.