Indian equity benchmarks slipped in Friday’s trade, finishing in the red, a day after hovering near record highs. The Nifty 50 ended the day 124 points or 0.47% lower at 26,068, while the BSE Sensex declined 400 points or 0.47% to end at 85,232.
As per the market experts, investor sentiments were weak on the back of the global decline, further escalated by the weak INR-USD. “Rupee dropped sharply to a new all-time low of 89.60, falling by 0.90 paise or -1.02%, as the absence of any clear communication or progress on the India–US trade deal triggered strong selling pressure. With no visibility on tariff rollback or trade-related assurances, sentiment remained weak, leading to a broad risk-off move in the rupee,” said Jateen Trivedi, Vice President of Commodity and Currency Research at LKP Securities.
For the week, the Nifty 50 closed 0.4% higher, while the Sensex ended 0.5% higher.
The Nifty Bank settled 480 points or 0.81% lower at 59,348. The small-cap and mid-cap stocks closed the trade on a lower note. The BSE Midcap finished 60 points or 0.13% higher at 47,268.84. The BSE Smallcap finished 88 points or 0.17% lower at 52,695.
“Indian markets turned volatile and settled lower, reflecting the broader decline seen across Asian equities after better-than-expected US non-farm payroll data dampened the expectation of a December rate cut. Profit-booking after a brief two-day uptrend added to the cautious tone, pulling all key indices into the red, with mid- and small-caps facing sharper corrections. Market sentiment was further undermined by a soft manufacturing PMI reading, a weakening INR, and growing worries over potential delays in India–US trade discussions,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.
Big highlights from today’s market action-
Indices in intraday trade
The indices closed the trade on a higher note. During the session, out of 3,175 trading stocks, 784 advanced, while 2,305 declined, and 86 remained unchanged. Today, 42 stocks hit a fresh 52-week high. Meanwhile, 182 stocks touched a new 52-week low.
Top gainers
Maruti Suzuki was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 in Friday’s session, closing 1.3% higher. It was followed by Tata Consumer Products, Max Healthcare, IndiGo, and M&M.
Top losers
JSW Steel’s shares were the biggest losers in today’s trade, declining 2.9%. It was followed by Hindalco, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, and HCL Technologies were the only losers.