Snapping their six-day winning streak, the Indian stock markets closed for the weekend on Friday on a decline amid profit-taking in FMCG and banking shares and fresh foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 344.52 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 84,211.88. During the day, it fell by 599.25 points or 0.70 per cent to 83,957.15.
The 50-share NSE Nifty, meanwhile, declined by 96.25 points or 0.37 per cent to 25,795.15 as 34 of its constituents closed lower and 16 with gains.
The profit-taking emerged ahead of the US macroeconomic data release later in the day, with investor sentiment further dampened after Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, said in Berlin that India does not do trade agreement with a “gun to our head”.
“We are in active dialogue with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head,” Goyal said at Berlin Dialogue in Germany.
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Earlier this week, key indices had soared by around 3 per cent on strong festive demand and foreign fund inflows. Both Sensex and Nifty hit their 52-week highs on Thursday.
Among Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever dropped the most by 3.20 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Titan, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were also among the laggards.
However, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
Analysts noted the subdued note in equity markets, saying Goyal’s remarks had a role to play.
“Equity markets ended the week on a subdued note after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks that India will not rush into trade agreements with restrictive conditions dampened hopes of an early India-US trade deal, leading to profit-booking across sectors following a strong rally earlier in the week,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
Experts also noted the pressure on the markets by US sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, adding to profit-taking by investors.
“Nifty ended lower by 96 points to close at 25,795, snapping a 6-day run-up. Markets were pressured by US sanctions on Russian oil companies and profit-taking by investors,” observed Siddhartha Khemka – Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled higher.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note but US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,165.94 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹3,893.73 crore on a net basis in the previous trade.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.24 per cent to USD 65.83 a barrel.
Rising for the sixth straight session on Thursday, the Sensex climbed 130.06 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 84,556.40. The Nifty ended 22.80 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 25,891.40.
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