Stock market today: Nifty50 ends above 25,000; BSE Sensex drops 200 points

Stock market today: Nifty and BSE Sensex indices closed lower on Friday as investors booked profits in IT shares and Bharti Airtel following the previous session's substantial gains. The NSE Nifty decreased by 42.30 points (0.17%) to 25,019.80.The BSE Sensex fell by 200.15 points (0.24%) to close at 82,330.59, having dropped to 82,146.95 during trading hours. Bharti Airtel shares declined 2.81% after Singtel reduced its direct stake by approximately 1.2% for USD 1.5 billion, aligning with its strategic capital management approach to enhance shareholder value.Notable declines were observed in HCL Tech, State Bank of India, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan amongst the Sensex constituents.Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, ITC, Tata Motors and NTPC registered gains during the session.Asian markets showed mixed results, with Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declining, while South Korea's Kospi advanced. European markets traded positively, and US markets largely finished higher on Thursday."Markets languished in negative territory throughout the trading session and ended weak due to selective profit-taking in IT, banking and metal shares."However, broader indices like mid and smallcap indices coupled with most sectoral stocks ending in positive territory shows that investors are cautiously optimistic on equities, despite global uncertainties," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, increased 0.09% to USD 64.59 per barrel.Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 5,392.94 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.The previous session saw Sensex surge 1,200.18 points (1.48%) to reach a seven-month high of 82,530.74, while Nifty rose by 395.20 points (1.60%) to 25,062.10, also a seven-month peak.