Harshit Singh
Due to selling in information technology (IT) and banking equities amid foreign money outflows and sluggish trends in the US markets, the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the second straight day on Friday.
To end the day at 66,160.20, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 106.62 points, or 0.16 percent. It dropped down 388.17 points or 0.58 percent over the day to a low of 65,878.65.
The NSE Nifty finished at 19,646.05. It was down 13.85 points, or 0.7%.
Although encouraging, the US Q2 GDP statistics that came in higher than projected dampened sentiment on the local market because it hinted at the possibility of another rate hike. The uncertainty was increased by the Fed chairman’s remarks on a data-centric strategy without discounting rate increases.
“Also contributing to market volatility were the FII’s reversal of the buying trend and the increase in US bond yields. Despite rumours that the BOJ might remove support measures, the decision to keep the policy rate helped Asian markets to remain broadly upbeat, according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The Sensex pack’s biggest laggards included Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, and Maruti.
The winners included NTPC, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, ITC, and Reliance Industries.
The BSE midcap gauge and smallcap index both increased in the overall market by 0.55 and 0.49 percent, respectively.
Among the indexes, utilities increased by 2.61%, power increased by 2.57%, real estate increased by 1.92%, services increased by 1.01%, FMCG decreased by 0.85%, and commodities decreased by 0.56%.
Oil & gas fell by 0.28 percent, telecommunications by 0.12%, IT by 0.67 percent, and Teck by 0.69 percent.
Markets continued the current consolidation period by trading in a small range and ending nearly unaltered, according to Ajit Mishra, SVP – Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Real estate and FMCG made slight gains, although pressure in IT and banks restrained gains, keeping traders busy, according to Mishra.
While Tokyo settled lower on Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all finished in the black. European stock markets were trading under a range of conditions. On Thursday, the US markets finished in the red.
Brent crude, the benchmark for all crude oil, was down 0.42 percent at USD 83.89 per barrel.
According to exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares of stock on Thursday totaling Rs 3,979.44 crore.
The Nifty dropped 118.40 points or 0.60 percent to conclude at 19,659.90, while the BSE benchmark fell 440.38 points or 0.66 percent to close at 66,266.82.
