Stock market today: Sensex slips 625 pts, Nifty below 25,250; Tata Steel shares fall 3%

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty slipped in early trade on Friday, snapping a three-session winning streak, amid muted global cues. Investors remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget 2026, which is scheduled to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, 2026.

At 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex slipped 413.35 points, or 0.50%, to 82,153.02 after falling nearly 625 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty was down 153.80 points, or 0.61%, to 25,265.10, after briefly touching a low of 25,224.35. 

Among Sensex constituents, Tata Steel declined 2.64% to Rs 197. Eternal slipped 1.58%, while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), HCL Technologies and Infosys fell 1.23%, 1.23% and 1.18%, respectively.

Asian markets traded lower. At last check, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.85% to 52,923.12, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.85% to 5,225.67. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.42% to 27,571.38.

Wall Street ended mostly lower overnight, with two of the three major indices closed in the red. The S&P 500 edged 0.13% lower to close at 6,969.01, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11% to 49,071.56. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.72% to settle at 23,685.12.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Sensex advanced 221.69 points, or 0.27%, to end at 82,566.37, while the Nifty climbed 76.15 points, or 0.30%, to settle at 25,418.90.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said that as Budget Day approaches, the market faces both headwinds and tailwinds. “Geopolitical issues continue to plague global trade with continuous threats of tariff weaponisation by Trump,” he said.

Vijayakumar said the rise in Brent crude to near $70 is a headwind for Indian macroeconomics in general, and industries that rely on oil as inputs in particular. 

“However, these headwinds are likely to be countered by the positive message from the Economic Survey that projects GDP growth of 6.8 to 7.2% growth in FY 27. With 3.5% headline inflation, India is headed for around 10% nominal GDP growth in FY27. This has the potential to deliver 15 to 17% earnings growth in FY 27, imparting resilience to the market. The steady decline in FPI outflows during the last two days indicate a possible change in FPI strategy. Another significant trend is India’s success in diversification of its export market away from the US to other markets. From early 2027 onwards this trend will gain momentum with the India- EU trade deal getting implemented. Overall, at this juncture, tailwinds are stronger than headwinds and this is positive for markets in the medium to long-term," Vijayakumar added.