Sensex snaps 2-day winning run amid weak global cues

Equity benchmark Sensex declined 123 points on Friday due to selling pressure in metal and energy stocks amid a bearish trend in global equity markets.

Rising crude prices and continued selling by foreign investors also weighed on market sentiment, traders said.

Snapping its two-day gaining streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 123.52 points or 0.20% lower at 60,682.70. During the session, the index touched a high of 60,774.14 and a low of 60,501.74.

The broader NSE Nifty slipped 36.95 points or 0.21% to finish at 17,856.50.

HCL Tech was the biggest loser on the Sensex chart, shedding 2.79%, followed by Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, Wipro, Infosys and M&M.

In contrast, Tata Motors, L&T, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and SBI were among the winners, climbing up to 2.05%.

“During this week, the benchmark BSE-30 and Nifty-50 were almost flat. However, the BSE Midcap and BSE Small-cap index saw positive gains during the week.

“Sector-wise, BSE Metal and BSE Power index witnessed sharp correction, whereas Healthcare, IT, capital goods and Realty reported gains this week,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Among sectoral indices, metal declined by 1.51 per cent on Friday, followed by utilities (1.35%), power (0.84%) and energy (0.69%).

Realty, capital goods and industrials were among the gainers.

Adani Group’s flagship Adani Enterprises fell 4.15% to settle at ₹1,847.35. Shares of edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd slipped 0.95% to end at 436.10 per scrip. Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas witnessed a fall of 5% each, while Adani Green Energy fell 4.99%.

The scrip of Ambuja Cements gained 0.85% to ₹361.05, NDTV fell 3.65% to ₹208.65, and ACC dipped 1.85% to ₹1,881 on the exchange.

Meanwhile, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gained 0.31% to ₹583.85.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge rose 0.04 per cent, and the smallcap index gained 0.48%.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with losses, while Tokyo and Seoul settled with gains.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading with losses in the afternoon session. The U.S. markets had ended significantly lower in the overnight session.

“Domestic indices lost ground following the global rout as investors speculated over the prospects of further policy tightening. Worries about a looming recession escalated as the President of Richmond Fed added to the hawkish comments by the Fed speakers,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The rupee slipped 4 paise to close at 82.55 against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 2.32% higher at $86.46 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets as they offloaded shares worth ₹144.73 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.