Sensex, Nifty Slip as FIIs Pull Back; Middle East Tensions Drag Markets

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled over 1% on Friday amid fresh foreign fund outflows and subdued global trends as investors weighed rising geopolitical risks. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 961.42 points or 1.17%, to settle at 81,287.19. During the day, it dropped 1,089.46 points or 1.32%, to 81,159.15. The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 317.90 points or 1.25%, to end at 25,178.65. From the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti were among the major laggards. HCL Tech, Trent, Infosys and Eternal were the gainers. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,465.99 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth ₹5,031.57 crore. “Indian markets continued to consolidate amid weak global cues and rising geopolitical risks, with investor sentiment turning increasingly cautious. The lack of progress in U.S.–Iran nuclear talks has intensified concerns of further escalation of Middle East tensions, while persistent AI-related uncertainty is also supporting safe-haven flows. Domestically, a risk-off tone prevails as the earnings season winds down and global macro factors take precedence,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi fell by 1%. Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended in positive territory. Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. The U.S. market ended mostly lower on Thursday (February 26, 2026). “Weak global cues and rising geopolitical uncertainty following inconclusive U.S.–Iran talks weighed on investor confidence, triggering broad-based profit-booking across auto, FMCG and pharma stocks after recent advances. The absence of

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