Indian equity indices closed with gains in a highly volatile market on Friday, led by the index heavyweights Reliance Industries, banking and financial stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 167 points or 0.23% to settle at 71,595. The broader NSE Nifty gained 64 points or 0.30% to end at 21,782.

Bluechip Sensex stocks, SBI, Sun Pharma, and ICICI Bank were the top gainers, rising 2-3.5%. Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Nestle, Titan, and Asian Paints also closed with gains, while M&M, Airtel, NTPC, Tata Steel, and JSW Steel closed with cuts.

Among individual stocks, Zomato shares closed 4% higher after the firm’s net profit jumped nearly 4x (283%) quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to Rs 138 crore. Revenue from operations in the third quarter increased 69% YoY.

Paytm shares declined 6% after RBI officials maintained its tough stance against the fintech firm saying that the action was taken after persistent non-compliance and that the firm was given enough time to take corrective measures. Today’s decline comes after the stock ended Thursday’s session in a 10% lower circuit.

In the broader market, Nifty Smallcap100 declined 1.4%, and Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.9%. Whereas, sector-wise, Nifty Bank rose 1.4%, and Nifty Healtcare gained 1%. The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by Rs 1.93 lakh crore to Rs 286.28 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 2,520 stocks declined, 1,314 gained, and 98 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Experts View
“After a volatile session, the market ended on a positive note, aided by a rebound in banking stocks after yesterday’s sell-off. Mid- and small-cap indices bled the most as the sentiment on the broader indices remains vigilant due to their rich valuation,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Caution prevails in the market ahead of the release of US, UK, and Indian inflation data next week, while the US 10 yr yield is inching higher, Nair said.

Rupak De, LKP Securities, “Nifty started flat and remained sideways during the trading session. It found support at the 20DMA for the second day in a row. The trend could weaken if it decisively drops below 21,690. A decisive fall below 21690 may trigger a correction towards 21,500. On the contrary, if it moves above 21,800, we might observe a recovery in the near term.”

Global Markets
Global shares stood their ground on Friday after Wall Street scaled new heights, with looming US inflation data set to help investors update their bets on interest rate cuts and steer the dollar’s direction.

Japanese shares hit 34-year highs on Friday while adjustments to interest rate expectations sent the yen to a two-month low. In China, mainland markets were closed and Hong Kong traded thinly and shut early, with the Hang Seng down 0.8% amid nerves authorities may not deliver on promises for support.

In Europe, the STOXX index of 600 companies was flat.

Crude Oil
Oil prices were little changed on Friday, staying on track for weekly gains, with tensions persisting in the Middle East after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas.

Rupee Weakens
Brent crude futures slipped 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $81.69 a barrel by 0851 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.43 a barrel.

The Indian rupee ended weaker on Friday, pressured by dollar demand from importers. The rupee closed at 83.0350 against the U.S. dollar, weaker by 0.1% compared with its close at 82.9550 in the previous session. The local unit also logged a weekly decline of 0.1%.

The dollar index was largely steady near 104.2 and most Asian currencies were rangebound but ended the week lower, pressured by moderation of bets on early rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

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