The Indian stock market witnessed a significant downturn on Friday, November 21, 2025, breaking its previous bullish trend as broad-based selling pressure dragged key indices down by more than 0.40%. The market sentiment turned cautious primarily due to weakness in metal and banking sectors.
Market Performance Highlights
The benchmark Nifty 50 index closed with a 0.40% decline at 26,078 points, moving further away from its recent record highs. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex experienced a slightly steeper fall of 0.47%, settling at 85,243 points at the end of the trading session.
Despite the day's losses, both major indices managed to secure weekly gains exceeding 0.60%, marking their second consecutive week in positive territory. This indicates that while Friday's session was challenging, the overall weekly performance remained resilient.
Sectoral Performance and Top Losers
Metal stocks emerged as the primary drag on market performance after hopes for a US Federal Reserve rate cut diminished. The sentiment shift followed stronger-than-expected US job growth data for September, which showed nonfarm payrolls rising by 119,000 - well above market forecasts.
Banking stocks also faced significant profit booking, while realty stocks extended their losing streak. The broader market indices suffered even deeper cuts, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 both declining by over 1%. For the week, these indices ended with losses of up to 2.24%.
Among the notable losers were Jaiprakash Power, Hindustan Copper, GMDC, Mazagon Dock, and NALCO, which featured prominently in the day's worst-performing stocks list.
Global Factors Influencing Market Sentiment
The weakened expectations for a December Fed rate cut came after delayed data revealed September's unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 4.4%. According to current Fed funds futures, markets now assign less than a 40% probability of another rate cut this year.
Fed Governor Michael Barr emphasized the need for caution as inflation remains elevated. The minutes from the October meeting further revealed that policymakers were concerned that additional rate cuts could potentially entrench inflation and undermine public trust in economic stability.
As this was the final jobs report before the December FOMC meeting, financial markets now anticipate the Fed to maintain current interest rates, especially given the additional uncertainty created by the US government shutdown situation.
