Closing Bell: Nifty slips below 16,300, Sensex drops over 750 points as benchmarks end 1.5 lower; auto top drag, IT sits in green

The Indian markets ended nearly 1.5% lower on the last trading day of the week despite seen making recovery in the afternoon session. Benchmarks Nifty50 and the Sensex ended more than 2.5% lower for the week ended March 4 as geopolitical tension and rising crude kept the markets jittery throughout the week.  

The broader Nifty50 slipped below 16,300, while the Sensex declined more than 800 points. Benchmarks closed at 16,245.35 and 54,333.81 respectively Friday. 

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In Broader market, midcap and small cap indices too ended nearly 2% lower. Auto, consumer durables and realty were worst hit with nearly 3% cut each. The 12-share banking index Nifty Bank dropped around 600 points to close near 34,300. 

Dr Reddy's, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Ultratech cement, Wipro, Sun Pharma and Infosys gained in otherwise weak market, while Titan, Asian Paints, Maruti, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel dragged the market the most.  

Meanwhile, February became the second consecutive month to witness a decline in Nifty index and the second steepest month-on-month fall in the past 23 months, brokerage house Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a report.  

Als, DIIs recorded the highest inflows in February since March 2020 at $5.6 billion, whereas FIIs pulled $5 billion from the market.