Stock markets cut short 6-day rally, Sensex falls 344 points amid profit-taking, foreign fund outflows

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell on Friday (October 24, 2025) amid profit-booking in FMCG and banking stocks after six days of rally and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Snapping its six-day winning streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 344.52 points or 0.41% to close at 84,211.88. During the day it fell 599.25 points or 0.70% to 83,957.15.

The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 96.25 points or 0.37% to 25,795.15, as 34 of its constituents closed with losses and 16 with gains.

The profit-booking came after a six-day rally during which key indices rose nearly 3% on strong festive demand and foreign fund inflows. On Thursday, both Sensex and Nifty reached their 52-week high.

Sentiment further weakened after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India does not enter into trade deals in a hurry or with a “gun to the head”.

Among Sensex companies, Hindustan Unilever fell the most by 3.20%. UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Titan, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were also among the laggards.

However, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.

“We are in active talks with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we do not make deals in a hurry and we do not make deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head,” Mr Goyal said at the Berlin Dialogue in Germany. The minister is in Berlin to participate in the talks.

“Hopes of an India-US trade deal soon diminished after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s comments that India will not rush into trade agreements with restrictive terms, led to profit-booking across sectors after a strong rally earlier in the week,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of online trading and wealth tech company Enrich Money.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed higher.

European markets were trading with a mixed trend. US markets closed in positive territory on Thursday.

According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,165.94 crore on Thursday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers, buying equities worth ₹3,893.73 crore on a net basis in previous trade.

Siddharth Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said, “Nifty fell 96 points to 25,795, snapping a six-day high. The market was under pressure from US sanctions on Russian oil companies and profit-booking by investors.”

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.24% to $65.83 a barrel.

Gaining for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday, the Sensex closed 130.06 points or 0.15% higher at 84,556.40. Nifty closed at 25,891.40, up 22.80 points or 0.09%.