Equity indices fell for the second straight session on Friday, mirroring a global selloff as rising Delta cases and fears of earlier-than-expected Fed tapering sparked a broad retreat from riskier assets.

A depreciating rupee, which slumped 15 paise against the dollar, added to the woes.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 300.17 points, or 0.54 per cent, to close at 55329.32. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 118.35 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 16450.50.

Shrikant Chouhan, executive vice-president (equity technical research) at Kotak Securities, said: “After witnessing a splendid rally in the first two sessions of the week, markets have come under profit-taking thereafter amid worries of stretched valuations and lack of fresh positive triggers.”

During the week, the Sensex declined 107.97 points or 0.19 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 78.6 points or 0.47 per cent.

Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities, said: “Over the week, FMCG and IT were the main gainers while metals, media, PSU Bank and realty lost the most. Global worries are impacting sentiments of investors in India. The broader market rally seems to be fizzling out. Nifty could remain in the 16540-16280 band for the better part of the coming week.”

CarTrade disappoints

Shares of CarTrade Tech had a muted market debut on Friday, closing with a discount of nearly 8 per cent against its issue price of Rs 1,618.

The stock is listed at Rs 1,600, falling 1.11 per cent from the issue price on the BSE. It tumbled 8.77 per cent to Rs 1,476 and then ended at Rs 1,500.10, lower by 7.28 per cent. On the NSE, it made its debut at Rs 1,599.80 and closed at Rs 1,491, down 7.84 per cent.