Share Markets Close Week In Red, Sensex Crashes Nearly 400 Points, Nifty Tests 26K
Both benchmarks opened lower today morning, weighed down by continued foreign fund outflows and thin holiday-season volumes, as investors stayed cautious in the absence of strong domestic triggers.
The Indian markets ended this trading week on a muted note. The BSE Sensex rang the closing bell near 85k, crashing more than 350 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled for the day at at 26,047, declining close to 100 points.
On the 30-share Sensex, Titan, NTPC, HUL, TMPV, and Axis Bank stood among the early gainers. Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, TCS, and Eternal dominated the laggards.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap Select index bled 0.65 per cent. Sectorally, the Midsmall IT & Telecom index led across the board after it tanked 1.12 per cent. On the other hand, the Metal index rose 0.59 per cent.
“Indian equity markets traded with a cautious, mildly negative bias as thin year-end volumes, the absence of strong global triggers, and continued foreign investor outflows kept sentiment restrained,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.
“Investors engaged in selective profit booking across sectors such as IT, real estate and energy, while resilience in select banking and metal stocks helped limit the broader downside,” he added.
Despite Friday’s decline, benchmark indices managed modest gains in the holiday-shortened week. The Sensex rose 112.09 points, or 0.13 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 75.9 points, or 0.29 per cent over the week.
Global Markets Mixed; FII Selling Continues
Asian markets ended mostly higher, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Shanghai’s SSE Composite closing in positive territory. Markets in Hong Kong remained shut, while European bourses were closed on Friday. US markets were closed on Thursday on account of Christmas.
On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,721.26 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors purchased shares worth Rs 2,381.34 crore, exchange data showed.
Meanwhile, Brent crude prices rose 0.31 per cent to $62.43 per barrel, adding to cautious sentiment.
Notably, both benchmarks opened lower today morning, weighed down by continued foreign fund outflows and thin holiday-season volumes, as investors stayed cautious in the absence of strong domestic triggers. The Sensex slipped 183.42 points to 85,225.28, while the Nifty declined 46.45 points to trade at 26,095.65.
The domestic stock markets were closed on Thursday for Christmas, with the Sensex and Nifty having ended Wednesday’s session lower.
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