Stock markets end marginally lower on cooling oil prices, buying in HDFC Bank, IT stocks
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty recovered from early lows to close marginally lower on Friday following a correction in crude oil prices and late buying in IT shares and private banking major HDFC Bank.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 120.83 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 74,781.76. During the day, it fell 742.43 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 74,160.16. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 79.70 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 23,398.10. Intraday, the benchmark tanked 246.4 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 23,231.40.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank were the major laggards. HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, and Infosys were among the gainers. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 3.19 per cent to USD 104.2 per barrel.
“The market recovered from intraday lows, aided by value buying in select sectors, particularly IT, following a positive opening in European markets. Despite the rebound, weak market breadth suggests broader consolidation persists,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said. While elevated crude prices, foreign outflows, and geopolitical uncertainty may keep volatility high, resilient domestic fundamentals and strong institutional support continue to attract buying at lower levels, limiting downside risks and supporting the medium-term outlook, he added. The BSE SmallCap Select index declined 0.67 per cent, while the MidCap Select index ended marginally higher by 0.07 per cent. Among the BSE sectoral indices, Realty tumbled 2.69 per cent, followed by Metal (2.40 per cent), Commodities (1.61 per cent), Energy (1.06 per cent), Utilities (1 per cent) and Auto (0.88 per cent).
Financial Services, Private Banks index, IT, Telecommunication, Bankex and Focused IT were the gainers. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark tumbled 1,733.67 points, or 2.26 per cent, and the Nifty declined 499.6 points, or 2 per cent.
“Indian equities staged a sharp recovery from a gap-down opening on Friday, led by selective buying in a handful of index heavyweights. Despite the rebound, both the Nifty and Sensex ended marginally lower, while the Bank Nifty closed modestly higher, highlighting the narrow breadth of the recovery,” Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth, a Research Analyst firm.
The retreat in crude oil prices provided some relief, but Brent, around USD 104 a barrel, remains elevated enough to sustain concerns over inflation, the rupee and India’s import bill, he added.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower. Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended in negative territory on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 438.24 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the Sensex advanced 138.36 points, or 0.19 per cent, to settle at 74,902.59 on last-minute buying. The Nifty edged higher by 46.30 points, or 0.20 per cent, to end at 23,477.80.
