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.
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