In early trading on Friday (September 26, 2025), equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell, influenced by a decline in pharmaceutical stocks and ongoing outflows of foreign funds.
Concerns over the U.S. H-1B visa fee and a downward trend in global markets have also contributed to the bearish trend in domestic equities.
Following the announcement by the Trump Administration of a 100 percent tariff on imports of branded or patented pharmaceutical products, effective October 1, investor focus will be directed at the domestic pharma sector. According to Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, this tariff action closely follows the sharp increase in US H-1B visa fees, which has already led to significant selling in IT sector stocks over the past few sessions.
During early trading, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 329.66 points to reach 80,830.02. The NSE Nifty, which comprises 50 shares, fell by 105.7 points to reach 24,785.15.
Sun Pharma, one of the Sensex companies, saw a decline of more than 3%. Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Infosys, and HCL Tech were also among those that lagged.
Nonetheless, the winners included Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, ITC, and Trent.
In the Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were quoted lower.
U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday.
As per exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold off shares valued at ₹4,995.42 crore on Thursday.
V K Vijayakumar, the Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, stated, “The ongoing FII selling may maintain market pressure.”
The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, increased by 0.17% to reach $69.54 per barrel.
On Thursday (September 25, 2025), the Sensex dropped by 555.95 points or 0.68%, closing at 81,159.68. The Nifty dropped 166.05 points (0.66%), settling at 24,890.85.
