Continuing with their declining streak, stock markets closed lower in a range-bound trade on Friday, following losses in IT shares and sluggish activity in Asian markets due to trade uncertainty after a US appeals court temporarily reinstated reciprocal tariffs. The release of domestic GDP report in post-market hours had also cautioned investors, adding to the sluggishness.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 182.01 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,451.01, while NSE Nifty dipped 82.90 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,750.70.
During the day, BSE had dropped 346.57 points or 0.42 per cent to 81,286.45.
Metals, IT, and auto sector shares declined while banking shares gained. Among Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra fell the most by 1.73 per cent. HCL Tech, Asian Paints, NTPC, Infosys, Nestle, Sun Pharma, and Tata Steel also closed lower.
The gainers, meanwhile, were Eternal, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finserv.
“A range-bound movement continued in the market, with the temporary reinstatement of US tariffs by the appeal court influencing investors to stay on the sideline. The global market may contend with macroeconomic concerns as the global trade landscape has yet to see stability, which may navigate a short-term consolidation.
Meanwhile, FII inflows continued due to the volatility in the US 10-year yield and an expectation of solid domestic Q4 GDP data later today and a rate cut by RBI,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited said.
“Markets languished in negative territory to end lower amid weak Asian cues as investors cut their position in IT, metal, oil & gas and auto shares,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.39 per cent while smallcap index went up by 0.17 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, metal dropped the most by 1.68 per cent, followed by BSE Focused IT (1.14 per cent), commodities (1.14 per cent), utilities (1.09 per cent), teck (0.99 per cent), auto (0.91 per cent) and telecommunication (0.79 per cent). Financial Services, bankex and capital goods were the gainers.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark declined 270.07 points or 0.33 per cent and the Nifty dipped 102.45 points or 0.41 per cent.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled in the negative territory. Markets in Europe were trading higher and US markets ended higher on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹884.03 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹4,286.50 crore, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.44 per cent to USD 64.43 a barrel.
The BSE Sensex climbed 320.70 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 81,633.02 on Thursday. The 50-share Nifty went up by 81.15 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,833.60.
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