Markets extend losses: SENSEX and NIFTY50 down by 1%, Nifty Bank tanked by more than 1,000 points

The Indian equity benchmark saw a muted start on Friday, with frontline indices initially opening in green. However, the early gains were quickly reversed, and losses deepened as the day progressed. The NIFTY50 index is now on track for its fourth consecutive week of decline, weighed down by disappointing quarterly results from private bank lender IndusInd Bank (-41.34 pts) and power company NTPC. (-18.33 pts) By midday, the NIFTY50 was trading above the 24,200 mark, down by 0.8%. Similarly, the SENSEX retreats from its intraday high to trade 600 points down from yesterday's close. Adding to this, the Nifty Bank tanked nearly 2% or 1,000 points.

The NIFTY50 and the SENSEX have dropped about 2.7% and 2.2%, respectively, so far this week and are on course for their fourth straight week of declines. This is the longest losing streak since August 2023. Both the benchmarks are down over 7% from record highs hit on September 27 and are on track for their worst monthly performance since March 2020.

The NIFTY50 market breadth was on the bear side, with only 11 stocks advancing and 39 stocks declining. The overall market breadth also displayed strong weakness, as 2,357 stocks declined while only 316 advanced.

The broader indices extended the losses, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index down by 2.25%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index slipped by 2.30%. Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty FMCG, NIfty Healthcare and Nifty Pharma were in green, gaining 1.17%, 0.35% and 0.20%, respectively. On the other hand, all remaining sectors were in red, Nifty Consumer Durables tanked by 3.5%, emerging as the top loser.