Sensex plunges 961 points; Nifty slips below 200-day EMA as broad selloff grips markets

Markets ended the week on a deeply negative note on Friday, February 27, with the BSE Sensex crashing 961.42 points, or 1.17 per cent, to close at 81,287.19, while the NSE Nifty 50 shed 317.90 points, or 1.25 per cent, to settle at 25,178.65 — breaching the psychologically significant 25,200 mark and slipping below its 200-day EMA, a key long-term trend indicator signalling that sellers are firmly in control.

The breakdown was sharp and broad-based. Of the 4,369 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,633 declined against 1,574 advances, while 340 stocks hit fresh 52-week lows compared to just 100 reaching new highs. Six stocks were locked in the lower circuit. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices slipped 1.14 per cent and 1.10 per cent, respectively. On a weekly basis, both the Sensex and Nifty registered losses of 1.5 per cent each.

Foreign institutional investors were aggressive sellers on the day, with FIIs/FPIs recording a provisional net sell of ₹7,536.36 crore (gross purchases of ₹36,699.66 crore against gross sales of ₹44,236.02 crore) in the cash segment. Domestic institutional investors, however, provided a significant counterweight, with DIIs logging a net buy of ₹12,292.81 crore (gross purchases of ₹24,867.72 crore against gross sales of ₹12,574.91 crore). Total F&O turnover across NSE and BSE stood at ₹35,18,678.40 crore for the session.

Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking, noted that "a sharp bout of selling in the final hours dragged the index further down," adding that "the Nifty has not only surrendered the support zone of 25,400 but has also moved closer to the gap area around the 25,100 mark."

Sectorally, realty, auto, FMCG, metal, banking and telecom indices fell between 1 and 2 per cent. IT, media and consumer durables were the rare bright spots. Among Nifty losers, Adani Enterprises fell the most, dropping 2.68 per cent to ₹2,157, followed by Maruti Suzuki, which lost 2.50 per cent to ₹14,832. Bharti Airtel declined 2.47 per cent to ₹1,882, Grasim slipped 2.43 per cent to ₹2,794, and Sun Pharma dropped 2.40 per cent to ₹1,742.90.

On the gaining side, Trent led with a rise of 1.35 per cent to ₹3,908, followed by Infosys, which advanced 0.76 per cent to ₹1,298.90. HCL Technologies edged up 0.62 per cent to ₹1,382, Apollo Hospitals gained 0.55 per cent to ₹7,818, and Eternal rose 0.41 per cent to ₹247.50.

Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, noted that "out of the Nifty 500 universe, only around 110 stocks closed in the green, while nearly 387 ended in the red," underscoring the breadth of the selloff.

The Indian rupee weakened marginally, closing at ₹90.97 per dollar against the previous close of ₹90.91.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, attributed the week's volatility to "changing global cues, renewed tariff uncertainty, and concerns over AI-driven disruption," while flagging that "today's better-than-expected India GDP print, signalling resilient underlying economic activity, offers a measure of domestic support even as global risks remain elevated."

Looking ahead, the 25,000–25,030 zone will act as immediate support for the Nifty, with a break below 25,000 potentially accelerating losses towards 24,800. Mishra cautioned that "it will be important to see how the relatively stronger sectors, especially banking, behave in the coming sessions, as that could determine whether the market witnesses a rebound or extends the decline towards the 24,800 zone." For Bank Nifty, the 60,200–60,000 band remains a critical support confluence, with resistance capped at 60,700–60,800. Participants are advised to keep position sizes light and manage risk carefully heading into next week.

Published on February 27, 2026