Investor confidence in Indian equities is dwindling amid escalating global trade tensions. The Nifty 50 and Sensex have recorded significant losses, with both indices on track for a rare five-month decline due to weak earnings and Trump's proposed tariffs,

The NSE Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex have fallen 14.99% and 13.89%, respectively, from their September 2024 peak.

Indian equity markets are likely to open on a weaker note on Friday, February 28, as suggested by the GIFT Nifty, signaling a subdued start for both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50. This comes after a flat closing in the previous session,

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-down start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 22,542 level, a discount of nearly 141 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Nifty is set to break 28-year record with fall in five consecutive months, while Sensex will see a decline for three straight months.

Coal India, HDFC Bank, Shriram Finance, Axis Bank and Reliance gained, while IndusInd, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Wipro and M&M traded among major laggards. Aarti Drugs, Adani Green Energy, ACC, and ABB India stocks hit 52-week low.

While the BSE’s Sensex fell 952.39 points to trade at 73,660.04, the broader Nifty 50 tanked 282.45 points to 22,265.05.

Sensex and Nifty crashed nearly 1.50 per cent each on Friday (February 28). While Sensex lost 11 points to trade at 73551 around noon, Nifty was down more than 300 points to trade below 22300. The Nifty Modcap 100 and Smallap 100 crashed more than 3 per cent each.

India’s stock benchmarks, the Sensex and Nifty, opened sharply lower on Friday, falling by one per cent as investors reacted to US President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats and awaited key GDP data for the December quarter.