Sensex and Nifty faced their first weekly decline after four weeks of gains on Friday. The indices posted around 2 per cent loss during the week, the steepest weekly decline in 20 weeks.

The Sensex dropped to a low of 72,485 while the NSE Nifty 50 dipped to a low of 21,932.

Sensex opened at 72,886.77 and touched its intraday high and low of 72,998.07 and 72,484.82 respectively. The index closed with a loss of 454 points, or 0.62 per cent at 72,643.43.

Nifty 50 opened at 22,064.85 and touched its intraday high and low of 22,120.90 and 21,931.70 respectively. The index ended the day at 22,023.35, down 123 points, or 0.56 per cent .

BSE Midcap index also ended in the red, falling 0.51 per cent. However, the BSE Smallcap index defied the market trend and ended with a gain of 0.25 per cent.

In the weekly chart, the benchmark Sensex lost 2.2 per cent during the week while Nifty fell 2.1 per cent. This was the steepest weekly fall since October 2023.

On the other hand, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap lost around 4 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

On the sectoral front, all other sectoral indices ended in negative territory while the Nifty Metal and FMCG indices ended flat.

Among the top losers were Oil & Gas,  down by 1.98 per cent and Auto, by 1.57per cent.

The Nifty Bank index fell 0.42 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank and Private Bank indices ended 0.35 per cent and 0.04 per cent lower, respectively.

Top gainers of the day were: UPL up by 3.18 per cent , Bharti Airtel by 1.62 per cent and HDFC Life Insurance Company by 1.53 per cent.

The shares of Mahindra and Mahindra were down 4.99 per cent , BPCL by 4.15 per cent and Coal India down by 2.85 per cent —  closed as the top losers in the Nifty 50 index.

With several fund houses revealing their stress test results, they have also assured that their portfolios can navigate through choppy market conditions.

In global equities, weakness was seen driven by discouraging US data, reduced expectations of a Fed rate cut.

Reports revealed that US producer prices exceeded forecasts in February, while fewer individuals applied for and received jobless benefits than anticipated, weakening the case for a rate cut by the Fed.

Market participants will keenly watch out for the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance due next week.

Majority expect the global central banker to leave interest rates unchanged and start cutting rates from June-end or July onwards.

According to the CME Fed-Watch tool, expectations of a Fed rate cut increased to 47.9 per cent in July from 47.6 per cent a day before.

European shares inched lower on Friday as the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 per cent but looked set for its eighth consecutive week of gains.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng closed down 1.4 per cent , and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 1.5 per cent.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.2 per cent , while the blue-chip CSI 300 Index gained 0.5 per cent.