SENSEX and NIFTY50 slide 1%, NIFTY50 slips below 25,000 mark, India VIX above 15

The Indian benchmark indices continued to face selling pressure on Friday, starting the session on a soft note and extending their losses as the day progressed. By midday, the frontline indices were down by 1%, with the NIFTY50 index slipping below its important psychological level of 25,000 and the SENSEX shedding 870 points to trade at 81,331. The downturn was primarily driven by index heavyweight, with Reliance Industries tumbling -1.87%, dragging the indices lower. Other major contributors to the decline included SBI, which plunged -3.72%, marking its worst single-day performance in over a month and hitting a five-week low, and ICICI Bank, down by -1.33%.

The Nifty Bank index tumbled over 1%, falling below the crucial 51,000 mark and recording its steepest single-day decline since August 13. Market volatility spiked sharply, with India VIX climbing 6%, surging past the 15 level. This heightened volatility reflects the anxious mood of market participants as they await the release of the U.S August jobs report later today, which is expected to provide insights into how the U.S. labor market is really holding up.

On the sectoral front, it’s a sea of red as all the sectoral indices were in red led by Nifty PSU Bank down by 2.72%. The Nifty PSU Bank reached its lowest level in the last two months and all the constituents were in the red.

The broader markets were also in red. The Nifty Midcap 100 dropped by 0.92%, while Nifty Smallcap index slipped by 0.64%. The market breadth was extremely weak with 1,728 stocks declined, while 633 stocks advanced.