Indian equity benchmarks continued to face selling pressure for a sixth consecutive session on Friday, with heavy losses in IT, pharma, and PSU bank stocks weighing on sentiment.
By early afternoon, the Sensex was trading 310 points, or 0.38 percent lower, at 80,849, while the Nifty slipped 120 points, or 0.48 percent, to 24,771. Market breadth was negative, with 2,695 stocks declining compared with 918 advancing and 122 remaining unchanged.
Among the laggards, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, and IndusInd Bank fell as much as 3 percent, while Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors bucked the trend, gaining up to 4 percent. Over the past six sessions, the Sensex has dropped 2.73 percent and the Nifty 2.52 percent, positioning the indices for their steepest weekly fall since early April.
Sectorally, pharma, IT, metal, and PSU bank indices were the worst performers. Major IT stocks declined following a cautious outlook from Accenture, which analysts said dampened sentiment across the sector. Additional concerns about rising costs also impacted the industry, as the U.S. introduced a new fee of approximately ₹88 lakh on certain H-1B visas.
Pharmaceutical shares were particularly hard hit after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 100 percent tariff on branded and patented drug imports starting October 1, unless firms establish local manufacturing facilities.
Trump posted on Truth Social: “Starting October 1, 2025, we will be imposing a 100 percent tariff on any branded or patented pharmaceutical product, unless a company is building their pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in America.” He added that companies already under construction would be exempt.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) also continued their selling streak, offloading equities worth ₹4,995 crore on Thursday. The sustained FII selling may keep the market under pressure,” said V K Vijayakumar, experts believe.
In the broader market, the Nifty Smallcap100 and Midcap100 indices extended their declines for the fifth consecutive session. The midcap index lost 3.2 percent over this period, while the smallcap gauge declined around 4 percent.
Pharma stocks led losses in the smallcap space, with Neuland Laboratories and Natco Pharma falling up to 4 percent. Only 13 of the 100 constituents in the Nifty Smallcap index managed gains. Among midcaps, Waaree Energies dropped as much as 6 percent after U.S. customs authorities announced an investigation into possible tariff evasion.
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