Amid mixed global cues, benchmark indices fell up to 0.85% on Friday due to profit booking, ending a 6-day winning streak that had been driven by the S&P rating upgrade and GST reform proposals. After gaining as much as 2.44% in the previous six sessions, the Sensex lost 693.86 points, or 0.85%, to close at 81,306.85, while the Nifty declined 213.65 points, or 0.85%, to settle at 24,870.10.
Across Asia, equity markets in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia registered gains of up to 1.45%, while Indonesia and Taiwan declined alongside India.
The End of a Rally
On a weekly basis, however, both Sensex and Nifty posted gains of up to 0.97%, marking their second consecutive week of advances. Investors’ wealth rose by ₹8.87 lakh crore during the week, despite an erosion of ₹2.62 lakh crore on Friday.
“The domestic market started the week with a gap-up, driven by optimism surrounding GST rationalization. Additionally, a sovereign rating upgrade by S&P added another layer of confidence among investors. However, the rally lost momentum toward the end of the week as investors turned cautious due to profit booking and external headwinds,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
Tale of Two Markets
The market is now awaiting clarity on whether the additional 25% U.S. tariffs on Indian goods, linked to imports of Russian oil, will be implemented next week. Simultaneously, investors are watching for cues on the interest rate trajectory from U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, Nair added.
The broader indices outperformed, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap gaining 2.03% and 2.34% respectively during the week—their highest rise in eight weeks.
The advance-decline ratio turned negative on Friday after remaining positive for the first four days of the week, with 2,322 losers against 1,757 gainers on the BSE.
Among sectors, metals, commodities, banking, FMCG and energy were the top losers on Friday, slipping up to 1.27%. On a weekly basis, auto, consumer discretionary, telecom, realty and consumer durables were the top gainers, rising up to 5.07%.
Domestic institutional investors remained the key driving force, purchasing shares worth ₹10,388 crore during the week, while foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth ₹1,479.26 crore, as per BSE provisional data.