Market Wrap: D-Street Halts 3-Day Rally; Sensex down 420 points, Nifty below 23,100 as IT stocks pull

Indian benchmark indices closed in the red on Friday, ending a three-day winning streak. IT giant Infosys and private lender Axis Bank fell due to losses after quarterly results were announced.

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed down 423.49 points, or 0.55%, at 76,619.33, while the broader Nifty 50 index ended 108.60 points, or 0.47% lower, at 23,203.20.

Sector Watch

Infosys, India’s second-largest IT services company, fell 5.8% on Friday, even as the company reported an 11.46% rise in third-quarter net profit.

Infosys shed 2.7% in the IT index, weighing heavily on the sector. Despite generally benefiting from a weaker rupee due to significant US dollar earnings, the IT sector was broadly lower as weak results from Infosys dampened sentiment.

Axis Bank fell 4.4% after the lender’s quarterly profit missed market estimates due to slower loan growth and a rise in provisions for bad loans.

Infosys and Axis Bank were the top losers on the Nifty 50 benchmark.

In other stocks, LTIMindtree fell 1.5% after reporting a decline in its December-quarter profit.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries, the second most heavily weighted stock on the Nifty 50, rose 2.7% to become the index’s second biggest gainer by percentage. The increase followed a better-than-expected third-quarter profit driven by strong demand in its retail and telecom segments.

Take an expert

Prashant Tapase, senior VP (research) at Mehta Equities, said the market remained under pressure throughout the trading session as rising US bond yields continue to cause uncertainty among domestic investors.

“With FII fund outflows from domestic equities remaining strong, geo-political uncertainty and concerns over a slow pace of US rate cuts are keeping investors on edge,” Tapps said.

The ongoing tussle between bulls and bears reflects mixed market sentiment, with select heavyweights supporting hopes for a recovery on a rotational basis, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking.

“Continued FII selling and a mixed start to the earnings season are limiting the upward momentum. Until there are clear signs of a reversal, we advise maintaining a “sell on growth” strategy for the index while focusing on stock-specific opportunities during the earnings season,” Mishra added.

Global markets

European shares edged higher on Friday as falling bond yields, stronger-than-forecast Chinese growth data and upbeat earnings supported riskier assets. Meanwhile, Chinese data also supported most Asia-Pacific shares.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6%, while in Asia, mainland Chinese blue chips and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both gained 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3%, paring earlier losses of more than 1%. MSCI’s world index rose 0.05%.

Data showed China’s economy grew 5% last year, matching the government’s target, but growth was uneven, led by industry and exports, and the outlook for 2025 is uncertain as US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. stays

Currency Watch

The Indian rupee closed 1 paise lower at 86.62 against the US dollar on Friday, pressured by significant foreign fund outflows and declining domestic equity markets. According to forex traders, a strong US dollar and rising crude oil prices further weighed on the local currency, dampening investor sentiment.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.09% at 108.91.

Crude effect

Oil prices rose on Friday, heading for a fourth straight week of gains, as recent US sanctions on Russian energy trade raised expectations of oil supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures were trading up 30 cents, or 0.4%, at $81.59 a barrel by 0923 GMT.

FII/DII Tracker

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) on the same day invested Rs. 4,341 crore worth of equity was sold, while domestic institutional investors on the same day sold Rs. 2,928 crore equity was purchased.