Benchmark equity indices declined by about 0.51% intraday on Friday before recovering from the day’s lows, led by consumer durables and consumer discretionary stocks amid improving demand trends. The Sensex ended the day at 78,009.25, down 70.71 points, or 0.09%, while the Nifty closed at 24,366, down 29.85 points, or 0.12%.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex and Nifty declined 0.62% and 0.83%, respectively, snapping their two-week winning streak amid a surge in crude oil prices and renewed geopolitical tensions.
“Markets remained range-bound through the week amid elevated crude prices and persistent global uncertainty. While softer-than-expected US labour market data initially supported expectations of a patient Fed, the subsequent rebound in crude shifted focus back to inflation risks and evolving geopolitical developments,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
Domestically, better-than-expected corporate earnings, stability in the rupee, moderation in the domestic 10-year bond yield and a gradual improvement in FII participation provided support to the domestic macro environment despite external headwinds, Nair added.
“Investor sentiment remained subdued as Brent crude hovered around the $87 per barrel mark amid concerns over potential disruptions to global energy supplies. The US threat of an indefinite naval blockade of Iran further heightened uncertainty surrounding the Middle East and crude shipments,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking.
Meanwhile, mixed performance among key heavyweight stocks across sectors kept participants uncertain about the next directional move, Mishra added.
The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap declining a modest 0.13%, while the BSE Smallcap gained 0.10% during the week.
Barring consumer durables, which gained 1.30%, and realty, which rose 1.09%, all other sectoral indices ended the week in negative territory. Metals, FMCG, auto, healthcare and financial services were among the top sectoral losers.
TCS was the top Sensex loser during the week, declining 3.86%, followed by ITC, UltraTech Cement, SBI and Tata Steel. In contrast, Titan Company, BEL, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv and HCL Technologies were the top gainers.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 3,187 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 9,285 crore during the week.
Investors’ wealth declined by Rs 1.18 lakh crore during the week, taking the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies to Rs 492.16 lakh crore.