Market ends 6-day winning run; Sensex falls 694 points, Nifty slips below 24,900

Indian equity markets snapped a six-day gaining streak on Friday (August 22) with heavy selling in financials dragging benchmarks lower. The Sensex declined 694 points to close at 81,307, while the Nifty fell 214 points to settle at 24,870, giving up the 24,900 mark.From the Sensex basket, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Titan Company Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd were the major gainers. Asian Paints Ltd, UltraTech Cement Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd, ITC Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd were the biggest laggards.

Banking stocks were the biggest drag, with the Nifty Bank slipping 606 points, or over 1%, to 55,149. The Midcap index, however, ended relatively resilient, closing flat at 57,630, down 79 points. Market breadth remained weak with an advance-decline ratio of 2:3, as more than 40 Nifty stocks ended in the red and nearly 10 counters shed 2% or more.

Consumption names witnessed profit booking following recent gains. Among individual movers, R Systems rose 9% after acquiring Mangaluru-based Novigo for ₹400 crore. Defence stocks largely advanced, though Mazagon Dock fell 2% after a negative brokerage note.In the broader market, Nazara Technologies slipped 4% after PokerBaazi suspended its real-money gaming operations. Vodafone Idea surged 8% on reports of the Department of Telecommunications proposing relaxation in AGR dues. AB Fashion, Poonawalla Fincorp, and SJVNsaw short covering ahead of their exit from F&O this month.

Uno Minda continued its uptrend, adding 3% today and 10% for the week, while Paytm extended its positive momentum, gaining 16% so far this month. ICICI Lombard dropped 3% amid reports that IRDAI is considering a cap on health insurance premium hikes.