Mumbai, Feb 27 (IANS) The Indian equity benchmarks posted huge losses on Friday, amid heavy FII selling and weak global cues.

At the closing bell, Sensex lost 961 points, or 1.17 per cent to settle at 81,287. The Nifty lost 317.90 points, or 1.25 per cent, to close at 25,178.

Nifty Midcap 100 index performed in line with the benchmark as it dipped 1.10 per cent, while the NSE Smallcap 100 declined 1.10 per cent. Nifty Next50 lost 1.30 per cent.

Sectoral indices traded mostly in the red except IT, media, consumer durables. Nifty realty was the major loser down 2.26 per cent followed by auto down 1.86 per cent. Nifty Metal slipped 1.69 per cent and FMCG dropped 1.69 per cent.

The overall market breadth was in red with 1,515 stocks advancing against 2,300 stocks declining. Bank Nifty dropped 1.08 per cent.

Volatility ticked higher as the India VIX hovered around 2.6 percent, suggesting elevated caution among traders as benchmarks remained under pressure through the session.

Analysts said that a lack of progress in US-Iran nuclear talks has intensified concerns of further escalation of Middle East tensions. Further AI‑related uncertainty persists despite selective buying of domestic IT stocks after recent corrections, they added.

Rupee traded slightly weaker on Friday, losing 0.02 per cent to touch 90.98 against the dollar.

Nifty decisively breached the crucial 25,350 support level, sweeping through a key OI-rich zone and nearly filling the gap formed after the earlier US–India tariff-led rally, signalling a clear shift in near-term sentiment, an analyst noted.

Interestingly, IT stocks provided relative stability during the decline, posting modest gains despite the sector remaining under structural pressure after more than 20 per cent corrections seen in February, a market participant said.

Elevated volatility, geopolitical concerns, and cautious positioning ahead of key macroeconomic triggers kept investors defensive. The prevailing mood was clearly risk-off, with near-term direction likely to hinge on global developments, foreign fund flows, and upcoming economic data, said analysts.

–IANS

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