Indian shares closed lower on Friday due to declines in banking stocks and ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties, even as the week ended on a positive note overall.
Indian shares ended lower on Friday as weakness in lenders and financial stocks outweighed a generally supportive earnings backdrop, while Brent crude remaining above $80 a barrel kept investors cautious. The Sensex fell 455.59 points, or 0.58%, to 78,499.17, after touching an intraday low of 78,377.07, and the Nifty slipped 65.35 points, or 0.27%, to 24,570.65. Bajaj Finance led the decline with a 5.9% drop, while Bajaj Finserv lost 4.18%, as market participants weighed the Reserve Bank of India’s draft framework proposing tighter rules for some revolving credit products offered by non-bank finance companies. According to market strategists quoted by the Daily Pioneer, the proposals raised questions about loan growth, product flexibility and profitability across the wider non-bank lending space. Broader sentiment was also affected by uncertainty over Middle East tensions and caution ahead of the US non-farm payrolls report, even as some technology, auto and healthcare shares advanced. For the week, however, both benchmarks still finished higher, with the Sensex up 404.53 points and the Nifty gaining 187.05 points.
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