Sensex Tanks 1,000 pts at Close, Nifty Slips Below 24,550: Financials Drag Amid Volatility

Mumbai, March 6 (TNA) Indian equity benchmarks closed sharply lower at the closing bell on Friday, extending an intraday slide triggered by weak global cues, geopolitical tensions, and heavy selling in financial stocks. The BSE Sensex plunged over 1,000 points, or about 1.25%, to settle at around 79,015, while the NSE Nifty tumbled below 24,550, down approximately 1.1% from open, marking a reversal from yesterday’s rebound.

The day’s trading was marked by high volatility, with the Nifty dipping to intraday lows near 24,500 before a mild recovery, but banking heavyweights like ICICI Bank (down nearly 3%), HDFC Life, Shriram Finance, and Eternal weighed heavily on the indices. Broader markets showed mixed trends, with Nifty Midcap down 0.3% but Smallcap marginally up; sectoral indices like auto, realty, and PSU banks fell 0.5-1%, while defence surged 3% and energy/IT gained modestly.

Top Nifty gainers included Bharat Electronics (+2.64%), Reliance Industries (+1.76%), NTPC (+1.60%), ONGC, and Sun Pharma, providing some cushion amid the rout. India VIX spiked 8%, signalling heightened investor caution ahead of key global developments like oil prices and West Asia updates. Analysts attribute the selloff to renewed risk aversion post-Thursday’s gains, with focus shifting to US Fed cues and domestic earnings next week.