Domestic equity markets snapped the two-day winning streak and settled lower on Friday amid the weak global cues over recession fears. However, traders across the globe will be eyeing US inflation data, scheduled next week. Back home, constant FII selling is a concern for domestic equities.
For the day, BSE Sensex dropped 123.52 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 60,682.70. The Nifty50 Index also declined 36.95 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 17,856.50. However, broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled higher. India VIX dropped over 2 per cent to 12.75-level.
Nifty fell marginally due to weak global cues. Volumes on the NSE have again fallen post the reduction in news flow. Global markets were mostly lower as investors fretted about the potential for further Federal Reserve tightening and the effect on the economy, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
“On a weekly basis, the Nifty ended just 0.01 per cent higher, essentially flat, after a week of gain. It also made a lower top, higher bottom compared to the previous week. This narrowing of range over daily and weekly time frame could portend higher moves or breakout in Nifty on either side,” he said.
On a sectoral front, Nifty Metal index tanked 2 per cent, whereas FMCG and IT indices were the other laggards. On the contrary, IT index surged more than a per cent, whereas PSU lenders, pharma and auto indices posted decent gains.
Among Adani Group stocks, Adani Enterprises plunged about 4 per cent amid the outflow fears after MSCI rejig. Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Adani Green and Adani Total hit lower circuits of 5 per cent, each. NDTV, ACC and Adani Wilmar declined up 4 per cent. However, Adani Ports and Ambuja Cements managed to settle in green.
Barring the Adani Group stocks, HCL Technologies plunged 3 per cent, whereas Hindalco, Tata Steel and Coal India plunged 2 per cent, each, in the Nifty50 pack. Reliance Industries, ITC, Wipro and Eicher shed a per cent each to feature among the top laggards for the day.
On the contrary, Tata Motors jumped 2 per cent. UPL, Cipla and Hero Motocorp were a per cent each. HDFC Life Insurance, Tata Consumer Products, Larsen and Toubro and Bharti Airtel were among the other top gainers.
Domestic indices lost ground following the global rout as investors speculated over the prospects of further policy tightening, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“Worries of a looming recession escalated as the President of Richmond Fed added to the hawkish comments by the Fed speakers. The announcement by MSCI to reduce the weighting of four Adani Group companies further hurt sentiments at home,” he said.
A total of 3,609 stocks traded for the day on BSE, of which 1,872 settled higher, while 1,585 settled lower. The remaining 152 stocks ended unchanged. A total of 203 stocks hit an upper circuit on BSE, whereas 155 stocks hit the lower circuit during the trading session.
In the broader markets, One97 Communications (Paytm) plunged 9 per cent amid Alibaba’s exit buzz after a bulk deal in the stock during trading hours. SJS Enterprises tanked 7 per cent after the company’s profit margin was under pressure in the December 2022 quarter.
On the contrary, BF Utilities hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent, whereas Balaji Telefilms jumped 16 per cent after Vivek Koka was appointed as the chairman of its streaming arm Alt Digital. WPIL surged 16 per cent after Q3 earnings, whereas JBM Auto was up 12 per cent ahead of its results announcement.
Also read:┬аIRCTC Q3 impact: Shares fall after four days; what should investors do?
Also read:┬аMultibagger IPO stock hits upper circuit after bonus, stock split announcement
