Living up to its ominous reputation – Friday the 13th – proved to be exceptionally bad for investors as benchmark indices tumbled by up to 2.06%, the worst single-day closing in the week, due to continuing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and crude oil prices ruling around $101/barrel.
Several records were set for all the wrong reasons during the week; the Sensex and Nifty posted their worst weekly performance in six years and four years, respectively. Among sectors, the auto index fell 10% — the biggest fall in six years.
On Friday, the Sensex slumped 1,470.50 points or 1.93% to close at an 11-month low of 74,563.92, amid continued selling largely by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The Nifty fell 488.05 points or 2.06% to end the session at 23,151.10.
Mechanics of Panic
FPIs sold shares worth Rs 10,716.64 crore, the highest single-day outflow in more than a year (since February 28, 2025).During the week, they offloaded shares worth Rs 36,071 crore and DIIs bought shares worth Rs 37,740 crore (including Rs 9,977 crore of Friday).
On a weekly basis, the Sensex tumbled 4,354.98 points or 5.52% while the Nifty declined 1,299.35 points or 5.31%.
Investors lost Rs 19.86 lakh crore of wealth during the week, including Rs 10.24 lakh crore wiped out on Friday alone. Since the war began on February 28, investor wealth has eroded by Rs 33.68 lakh crore, as the Sensex and Nifty have plunged 8.27% and 8.05%, respectively.
“The West Asia conflict has led to heightened uncertainty in the markets, prompting investors to look for exit opportunities whenever possible. This has triggered panic selling, which is common during war, but appears more severe this time due to concerns over oil supply,” said Sudip Bandopadhyay, group chairman, Inditrade Capital.
He added that the banking sector has taken exceptional hit during this phase because of the high exposure of foreign institutional investors to BFSI stocks. In the precious metals sector, investors had accumulated large holdings, leading to profit booking,” he added.
Sectoral Impact
“Sustained foreign outflows and elevated oil prices could keep sentiment cautious, while any signs of easing geopolitical tensions may provide relief to markets,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research – Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI together contributed 1,212 points (or 28%) to the Sensex’s 4,355-point weekly decline, while L&T and M&M accounted for 790 points, or 18%.
L&T, UltraTech Cement, M&M, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Finance were the top Sensex losers, falling by up to 12.86% during the week, while NTPC, Power Grid and Sun Pharma were the only gainers, posting modest gains.
It was followed by PSU banks, consumer discretionary, industrials and private banks, each declining by over 6.5%.
On Friday, the metal index was the top sectoral laggard, falling 4.83%, marking its worst single-day decline since January 30.
All major Asian equity indices ended the week in the red. Indonesia was the worst performer, with its benchmark index falling 5.91%, followed by India (Nifty down 5.31%), the Philippines (down 4.14%), Japan (down 3.24%), and South Korea (down 1.75%).
(With inputs from Kushan Shah)
