Market Closing: Sensex Falls 721 Points, Nifty Holds 24,000; HDFC, ICICI Bank Drag – News18
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Benchmark Indian equity indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened on a subdued note on Friday
Sensex Today
Benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 closed the final trading session of the week in the negative. The 30-stock Sensex declined by 720.60 points, or 0.90%, to finish at 79,223.11, with the index oscillating between 80,072.99 and 79,147.32 during the day.
The NSE Nifty50 also ended lower, down 183.90 points or 0.76%, settling at 24,004.75. The index reached a high of 24,196.45 and a low of 23,978.15 throughout the session.
Out of the 50 stocks in the Nifty50, 32 closed lower, with Wipro, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, and Cipla among the top decliners, shedding as much as 2.83%. On the positive side, ONGC, Tata Motors, Titan, Nestle India, and SBI Life were among the 18 stocks that posted gains, with increases up to 5.11%.
The broader market followed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices closing lower by 0.30% and 0.24%, respectively.
Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note. The Bank Nifty dropped 616 points to close at 50,988.80, mainly dragged down by HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, which fell by 2.53% and 1.94%, respectively. On the upside, the Nifty FMCG, Media, Metal, PSU Bank, and OMC indices gained by as much as 1.26%. In contrast, the Nifty Financial Services, IT, Private Bank, and Healthcare indices were the biggest losers, falling by up to 1.41%.
Global Cues
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.16%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index fell 0.63%, and the Shanghai Composite dropped by 0.54%. The People’s Bank of China is reportedly considering cutting interest rates “at an appropriate time” this year, according to a Financial Times report. The current 7-day reverse repo rate stands at 1.5%.
In addition, China’s commerce ministry plans to impose export restrictions on certain technologies used for making battery components and processing critical minerals like lithium and gallium, as per a notice issued on Thursday.
South Korea’s Kospi index rose by 1.81%, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.70%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up by 0.50%, and Japanese markets remained closed for a holiday.
Global stocks had struggled on Thursday, with early gains fading as the dollar hit a two-year high after economic data showed that the US labor market remains robust.
On Wall Street, US stocks closed lower after initial gains were lost, marking the fifth consecutive decline for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq—the longest losing streak since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 151.95 points, or 0.36%, to 42,392.27; the S&P 500 fell 13.08 points, or 0.22%, to 5,868.55; and the Nasdaq Composite lost 30.00 points, or 0.16%, to 19,280.79.
Meanwhile, European stocks closed higher after a slow start, with energy stocks leading the gains.
