Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks tumbled more than 1 per cent on Friday as a broad-based selloff swept across sectors, led by metals, IT and commodities, in line with sluggish global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,048.16 points, or 1.25 per cent, to close at 82,626.76, after hitting an intraday low of 82,534.55. The NSE Nifty dropped 336.10 points, or 1.30 per cent, to settle at 25,471.10, having earlier touched 25,444.30. On a weekly basis, the Sensex shed 953.64 points (1.14 per cent), while the Nifty lost 222.6 points (0.86 per cent).

Also Read

placeholder

Beyond commodities: How India's updated CPI will reflect modern consumption trends

placeholder

Fuel prices (February 13, 2026): Check petrol and diesel rates in major Indian cities

placeholder

Anthropic hits $380 billion valuation after raising $30 billion in fresh funding

placeholder

HUL Q3 net profit rises two-fold to ₹6,603 crore on Kwality Wall’s demerger impact

placeholder

Why has the Income Tax department issued a Rs 4.62 crore notice to EFI?

placeholder

Nikkei at 58,000: Why Japan stocks are soaring and what’s driving the rally

Market breadth was weak, with 2,960 stocks declining against 1,253 advancing and 151 remaining unchanged on the BSE.

IT stocks bear brunt

Technology stocks bore the brunt of selling, with the Nifty IT index touching a 10-month low before closing 1.4 per cent down. “The sector continues to face headwinds amid rising concerns that rapid AI advancements could disrupt traditional service models and weigh on future revenue visibility,” said Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Metal stocks also saw heavy profit-booking, falling 3.21 per cent, followed by Realty and Commodities (2.27 per cent each), Utilities (2.26 per cent), and Energy (1.94 per cent). FMCG (1.74 per cent), Power, Oil & Gas and Services (1.72 per cent) indices also ended in the red.

Among Sensex constituents, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, and HCL Technologies were major laggards. Bajaj Finance and State Bank of India were the only gainers.

Global and commodity trends

Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments said domestic equities were weighed down by “weak global cues ahead of the upcoming US inflation data” and renewed fears of AI-driven disruption.

Precious metals also slumped, with gold and silver prices dropping more than 5 per cent in the national capital. Silver fell to ₹2.55 lakh per kilogram, while gold slipped to ₹1.58 lakh per 10 grams. The decline followed stronger-than-expected US jobs data, which dampened hopes of near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The rupee closed 3 paise lower at 90.64 against the US dollar. Brent crude rose 0.32 per cent to USD 67.81 per barrel.

Also Read | India updates Consumer Price Index series: A deeper look at retail inflation 

Global markets

Asian indices including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Shanghai’s SSE Composite, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi ended lower. European markets traded mixed, while US equities closed up to 2 per cent lower on Thursday.

Despite the selloff, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹108.42 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth ₹276.85 crore, according to exchange data.