Equity benchmark indices fell as investor sentiment dampened due to concerns over US reciprocal tariffs. On the last trading session for the financial year, Sensex shed 191.51 pts or 0.25 per cent to close at 77,414.92 and Nifty 50 dropped 72.60 pts or 0.31 to 23,519.35. The market will be closed on Monday, March 31, on account of Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramadan Eid). Trading operations will resume on Tuesday, April 1.

FMCG and oil & gas sectors showed some resilience, while IT, pharmaceuticals and automobile sectors faced maximum selling pressure.

India VIX was down 4.37 per cent to 12.72. Nifty midcap 100 dipped 0.32 per cent to 51,672.25 and Nifty smallcap 100 slipped 0.15 per cent to 16,095.70.

Tariff war will likely continue to dominate the direction of the markets globally, according to Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities. The markets also continued to witness positive sentiment from foreign investors.

But, in addition to the US tariff threats, markets will now look forward to the RBI monetary policy meeting and Q4 FY25 earnings.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said, “Markets are experiencing a new phase of consolidation as the latest US tariff measures are expected to have a significant impact on major manufacturing economies. Additionally, a rise in Japan’s CPI has contributed to the prevailing weakness.”

On the domestic front, the market’s upward momentum stalled as investors evaluate the implications of these tariffs on the auto, ancillary, pharma and other sectors, Nair added.

Top gainers & losers today

Shares of Tata Consumer Products, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Apollo Hospitals, ONGC, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors closed among the top gainers of Nifty 50 components on Friday. On the losing side, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Shriram Finance, Cipla and Mahindra & Mahindra closed in the negative territory.

Of all the 2,976 stocks that were traded on the National Stock Exchange, 1,099 of them advanced and 1,807 declined. Hester Biosciences, Happiest Minds, Indian Overseas Bank and Infibeam Avenues were among the 312 stocks that hit a 52-week low today.

Tata Consumer Products closed 2.91 per cent higher on the NSE at ₹1,001.90. Banking major Kotak Mahindra followed with a 2.13 per cent increase to end at ₹2,174.

Apollo Hospitals stock closed 1.88 per cent positive at ₹6,614.

ONGC soared 1.79 per cent to ₹246.50. ICICI Bank and Tata Motors inched up 0.85 per cent and 0.70 per cent, respectively.

New entrant to Nifty 50 index Jio Financial closed flat at ₹227.03.

BSE shares closed 16 per cent higher after NSE deferred its plan to shift F&O weekly expiry. SEBI on Thursday proposed rejigging the derivatives expiry schedule.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank shares slumped 3.64 per cent to ₹649.05 ahead of PwC report on accounting discrepancies.

IT major Wipro witnessed significant sell-off compared to peers, closing 3.56 per cent lower at ₹262.50.

Shriram Finance declined 3.28 per cent to ₹656.25 and pharma major Cipla depreciated 2.83 per cent to ₹1,441.

In addition, auto stock Mahindra & Mahindra also fell 2.63 per cent to ₹2,661.15.