New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- The six-day rally in the Indian stock market came to a halt in Friday's session as investors booked profits at higher levels, while attention shifted to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, which is expected to provide clarity on a possible September rate cut amid recent signs of job market weakness.

The Nifty 50 closed the session with a sharp drop of 0.85%, settling below the 25K mark at 24,870, while the S&P BSE Sensex also shed 0.85% to close at 81,306. However, the broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 slipping just 0.12% and 0.27%, respectively.

Meanwhile, investor sentiment was hit after White House Trade Adviser P...