By Priya Raghuvanshi

Copyright timesnownews

The Indian stock market closed out its sixth straight day in the red on Friday, September 26, capping one of its worst weeks in 2025. With benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 both tumbling over 2.6 per cent for the week, concerns are mounting about short-term market direction. The Sensex ended the week at 80,426.46, down 733.22 points (0.90 per cent) on Friday alone. The Nifty 50 wasn’t spared either, slipping 236.15 points (0.95 per cent) to close at 24,654.70. Pharma And IT Drag Shake Sentiment The week began with negative momentum after a hike in H-1B visa fees hit Indian IT stocks hard. But the bigger blow came later: the US imposed 100 per cent tariffs on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports, triggering a sharp selloff in major pharma counters. Puneet Singhania, Director at Master Trust Group, noted, “The Indian equity markets came under significant selling pressure this week, breaking a three-week winning streak. The downturn was largely triggered by two aggressive US policy announcements under President Donald Trump. The first was a steep one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B visa applications, effective immediately, which is expected to substantially raise operating costs for Indian IT companies. Additionally, Trump announced a 100 per cent tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports, effective October 1, 2025, further dampening sentiment.” FIIs And DIIs Update “The broader market also reflected weakness, with the Nifty Midcap index slipping 4.60 per cent and the Smallcap index plunging 5.10 per cent, intensifying selling pressure. The rupee weakened to a monthly low against the US dollar, adding to foreign investor concerns and highlighting growing trade tensions between India and the US. On the sectoral front, all major indices ended in negative territory, with IT, Realty, and Pharma leading the decline, shedding 7.86 per cent, 6.10 per cent, and 5.20 per cent, respectively,” noted Singhania. “From a technical perspective, the Nifty slipped below key moving averages, the 21, 50, and 100-day EMAs, signalling further potential downside. In terms of fund flows, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers, withdrawing Rs 19,570 crore from the cash segment during the week. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) extended strong support with inflows of Rs 17,411 crore, which partially cushioned overall market sentiment,” he said. RBI Policy Meeting In Focus Markets will now closely watch the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, set from September 29 to October 1. Governor Sanjay Malhotra is expected to announce key decisions on the repo rate. “A 25-basis-point cut at the upcoming MPC meeting would be a timely and practical step to support credit growth for MSMEs,” said Rohit Arora, CEO & Co-Founder, Biz2X & Biz2Credit, as per A Mint report. “Inflation has dropped sharply, with SBI research projecting CPI near 1.1 per cent in October… these factors give the RBI room to ease policy,” he explained. Get Latest News live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Business, Companies and around the world.