Stock market today: BSE Sensex and Nifty50, the Indian equity benchmark indices, tanked in trade on Friday. While BSE Sensex dropped over 500 points, Nifty50 went below 22,800. At 11:14 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 75,266.88, down 469 points or 0.62%. Nifty50 was at 22,768.65, down 144 points or 0.63%.

Benchmark indices continued their downward trend for the month as worries about possible US trade tariffs and ongoing foreign investor sales dampened market confidence.

Market sentiment remains negative due to Trump’s proposed tariffs on automobiles and pharmaceuticals, leading investors to shift focus towards domestic consumption opportunities unaffected by these measures, according to Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“The FII selling in India is likely to continue, particularly in the context of renewed interest in Chinese stocks which are cheap and are staging a smart recovery. FII selling will continue to put pressure on largecaps. This is an opportunity for long-term investors. Select midcaps like in the defence sector which have corrected and are fairly valued now are likely to witness buying since they don’t face the threat of FII selling,” said Vijayakumar.

“Caution remains the dominant theme, but favoured view is yet to see enough signs of a downside break aiming 21800-21300 right away,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, adding that bets are on at least one more day seeing attempts to swing higher, aiming 23150-220, before a stronger directional move on either side prevails.

Asian equities increased on Friday, showing resilience despite negative performance in US markets. Chinese stocks garnered renewed attention from investors, bolstered by developments in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Gold prices remained near peak levels, heading towards an eighth straight weekly increase, supported by risk-averse investing amid Trump’s tariff discussions and ongoing efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine situation.

Overseas institutional investors sold shares valued at Rs 3,311.55 crore on February 20, whilst domestic institutional investors continued their purchasing activity for the twelfth straight session, acquiring equities worth Rs 3,907.64 crore during the same period.

Oil prices showed a slight decline whilst maintaining positive weekly performance.

Brent crude futures decreased 0.1% to $76.40 per barrel, yet remained positioned for a weekly rise exceeding 2%. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude similarly reduced by 0.07% to $72.43 per barrel, whilst also heading towards a weekly increase of more than 2%.