Domestic equity benchmarks ended their three-day winning streak on Friday, as the Sensex and Nifty closed lower with profit booking in HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank and Trent outweighing gains in Adani Ports and State Bank of India.
Still, the benchmarks ended the week on a higher note.
At the closing bell, the Sensex slipped 387.73 points, or 0.47 per cent, to end at 82,626.23, while the Nifty50 declined 96.55 points, or 0.38 per cent, to settle at 25,327.05.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the Nifty50 slipped on Friday after forming a hanging man pattern in the previous session. “While the short-term trend still favors the bulls, a mild pullback from the current levels cannot be ruled out,” De said.
“On the downside, support lies at 25,150, and a breach below this could weaken the trend. On the flip side, sustaining above 25,150 may drive the index towards 25,500, and a decisive break above 25,500 could pave the way for a move to 26,000,” De added.
HCL Technologies led the losers on the Sensex, slipping 2.52 per cent to Rs 1471. ICICI Bank dropped 1.32 per cent, while Trent, Titan, M&M, and HDFC Bank declined 1.26 per cent, 1.09 per cent, 1.04 per cent and 0.98 per cent, respectively.
Five stocks namely, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and M&M contributed heavily to the Sensex’s decline.
Adani Group stocks surged, closing with gains of 1 per cent to 13 per cent, after SEBI dismissed Hindenburg Research’s claims of stock manipulation.
Among the sectoral indices, the BSE Bankex index slipped 0.46 per cent to settle at 62,367.20, while the BSE FMCG index was down 0.39 per cent to close at 20,736.68.
Within the BSE Sensex pack, Eternal and Maruti Suzuki touched fresh 52-week highs at Rs 339.90 and Rs 16,016, respectively.
Overall, out of the 4,316 active stocks traded on the BSE, 2,140 ended with gains, while 1,997 settled lower and 179 remained unchanged. As many as 162 stocks scaled their 52-week highs during the session. A total of 60 others hit their 52-week lows. The session also saw 281 stocks locked at their respective upper circuits and 157 others at lower circuits.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said the Indian equity market witnessed profit booking after a sustained multi-session rally, driven by anticipation of the FED entering an easing cycle.
“Positive developments in U.S.-India trade negotiations and improved global liquidity conditions continued to offer a cushion to investor sentiment. Against the backdrop of strengthening domestic fundamentals and a weakening U.S. dollar, the environment appears conducive for a potential return of FIIs, following a prolonged phase of net outflows,” Nair said.