Stock Market Today: The BSE Sensex and Nifty50, India’s key equity benchmarks, continued their decline for the fifth straight day on Friday. The BSE Sensex hovered just above 79,000, while the Nifty50 was near 23,900. At 10 am, the Sensex fell by 432.49 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 78,785.56, while the Nifty dropped 120.75 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 23,830.95. Out of the total shares traded, 1,596 advanced, 1,554 declined, and 113 remained unchanged.
On Thursday, Indian markets saw a widespread decline, influenced by global market volatility sparked by the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance on interest rates.
Speaking on the market outlook, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The FII buying witnessed in early December is getting reversed now with this week’s selling reaching Rs 12229 crores. This change in FII strategy is getting reflected in market trends,too, with largecaps, particularly financials, coming under pressure due to FII selling. This trend is unlikely to sustain and, therefore, retail investors can adopt a strategy opposite to the FII strategy. Quality largecaps will soon bounce back.
He added, “Pharmaceuticals have been resilient despite market weakness. This trend can sustain. IT is likely to be strong in the near-term, buoyed by the positive Accenture results and guidance. Gen AI is becoming a profit pool for IT companies. The negative response to the Fed’s commentary yesterday will be temporary. Recovery led by largecaps is possible in the near-term.”
Global Market
US markets remained steady on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled fewer rate cuts ahead. Asian equities were subdued in early Friday trade as the Fed's hawkish stance continued to weigh on US equities and bonds while strengthening the dollar.
Following the Fed's decision on slower rate cuts, gold prices were on track for a weekly decline on Friday. Market focus then shifted to the upcoming US Personal Consumption Expenditure data.