Indian equity benchmarks traded under pressure throughout the day and ended over a per cent lower on Friday, due subdued global trends amid rising geopolitical risks. The lack of progress in US-Iran nuclear talks has intensified concerns of further escalation of Middle East tensions. Investor sentiment also weakened due to the exchange data showing foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,465.99 crore on Thursday.  

Some of the important factors in trade: 

Goyal, Lutnick discuss US-India Trade & Partnership: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his US counterpart Howard Lutnick on Thursday discussed ways to expand trade relationship between the two countries, days after the US Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump's tariffs. 

Indian companies to sustain 8-10% Y-o-Y revenue growth in Q4 2025-26: With resilient rural demand and a gradual recovery in urban consumption, the rating agency ICRA has estimated that Indian companies to sustain favourable Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) revenue growth of 8-10% in Q4 2025-26 (vis-a-vis 10.6% YoY increase in Q3 2025-26). 

India-Israel FTA talks gain momentum; next round of negotiations in May 2026: With an aim to fast-track free trade agreement (FTA) process, the commerce ministry has said that the India and Israel are likely to hold next round of in-person negotiations in May 2026 in Israel. The two sides concluded the first round of four-day talks.  

AI creating opportunity for India, not job threat: Seeking to address fears of job losses in the Indian IT sector due to the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has exuded confidence that the new technology would rather enhance opportunities for Indian enterprises.  

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green despite lingering concerns regarding artificial-intelligence related layoffs and workforce disruption. Asian markets ended mixed as Nvidia's strong earnings and guidance failed to dispel investor fears over the durability of an AI boom.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 961.42 points or 1.17% to 81,287.19 and the CNX Nifty was down by 317.90 points or 1.25% to 25,178.65.      

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,246.17 and 81,159.15 respectively. There were 4 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was IT up by 0.27%, while Realty down by 2.25%, Telecom down by 1.83%, Auto down by 1.81%, Metal down by 1.57% and Basic Materials down by 1.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 1.22%, Trent up by 1.10%, Infosys up by 0.82%, Eternal up by 0.02% and NTPC up by 0.00%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.61%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.42%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.38% and Interglobe Aviation down by 2.32% were the top losers.   

Meanwhile, with an aim to fast-track free trade agreement (FTA) process, the commerce ministry has said that the India and Israel are likely to hold next round of in-person negotiations in May 2026 in Israel. The two sides concluded the first round of four-day talks. Both sides agreed to continue inter-sessional engagements virtually. Both countries are engaged in discussions covering a wide range of areas, including trade in goods and services, rules of origin, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, customs procedures, intellectual property rights, digital trade, and other key chapters.

During the ongoing two-day state visit to Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a special plenary of the Knesset in Jerusalem on February 25, called for early finalisation of an ambitious FTA to realise the untapped trade potential between the two countries. Both sides noted the untapped potential in key sectors, including machinery, chemicals, textiles, agriculture, medical devices, and advanced technologies.

In November 2025, the two countries signed the terms of reference (ToR) to formally start the negotiations for the pact. In such pacts, two sides significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and investments. The ToR include market access for goods by eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers, investment facilitation, simplification of customs procedures, increasing cooperation for innovation and technology transfer, and easing norms to promote trade in services.

During 2024-25, India's exports to Israel dipped 52 per cent to $2.14 billion from $4.52 billion in 2023-24. Imports, too, fell 26.2 per cent to $1.48 billion last fiscal year. The bilateral trade stood at $3.62 billion. India is Israel's second-largest trading partner in Asia. Though bilateral merchandise trade is dominated mainly by diamonds, petroleum products, and chemicals, recent years have witnessed an increase in trade in areas such as electronic machinery and high-tech products, communications systems, and medical equipment.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,476.40 and 25,141.30 respectively. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 1.35%, Infosys up by 0.76%, HCL Technologies up by 0.62%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.55% and Eternal up by 0.41%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.68%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 2.50%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.47%, Grasim Industries down by 2.43% and Sun Pharma down by 2.40% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 42.36 points or 0.39% to 10,889.06 and Germany’s DAX gained 49.48 points or 0.2% to 25,338.50, while France’s CAC fell 21.13 points or 0.25% to 8,599.80. 

Asian markets ended mixed on Friday as US Chip giant Nvidia's strong earnings and guidance failed to dispel investors’ fears over the durability of an AI boom. Besides, traders remained cautious as the indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran aimed at easing tensions over Tehran's nuclear program concluded without an agreement. Chinese shares rose ahead of its biggest annual political meeting next week, where policymakers are expected to set economic targets and outline policy plans. Japan’s Nikkei gained after data showed Tokyo's core inflation gauge eased to the slowest pace in more than a year. A separate data revealed that Japan's industrial output in January rose 2.2% from the previous month, marking the first expansion in three months, and Retail sales rose 1.8% year-on-year rebounding from a 0.9% decline in December. Taiwan markets were closed on account of Peace Memorial Day.