Domestic equity benchmarks ended mixed on Friday after a volatile session, as the Sensex slipped while the Nifty managed to close higher, as losses in heavyweights such as ITC, HCL Technologies and TCS outweighed gains in Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki.
At close, the BSE Sensex declined 7.25 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 80,710.76, after retreating 325 points from its intraday high of 81,036.56. The NSE Nifty50 gained 6.70 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 24,741.
Nilesh Jain, Head Technical and Derivatives Research Analyst at Centrum Broking Ltd, said the markets witnessed a smart recovery, with the Nifty managing to close above its 21-DMA, currently placed around 24,700.
“However, the recent momentum faced resistance near the 50-DMA at 24980, which also aligns with the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle pattern on the index. For a fresh leg of the uptrend, a decisive breakout above 25,000 is essential,” Jain said.
Jain said a successful move above this level could open the gates for a rally towards 25,300, and eventually 25,500. “On the downside, immediate support lies at the recent swing low of 24,520. Overall, Nifty is expected to consolidate within the broader range of 24,400-25,000 in the coming week,” he added.
ITC emerged as top loser on Sensex, with its shares falling 2.01 per cent to Rs 407.50. HCL Tech declined 1.55 per cent, followed by TCS (down 1.53 per cent), Tech Mahindra (down 1.43 per cent), Infosys (down 1.29 per cent) and Hindustan Unileverl (down 1.28 per cent).
Five stocks namely ITC, Infosys, TCS, L&T and Hindustan Unilever, contributed heavily to the Sensex’s decline.
Among the sectoral indices, the BSE IT index fell 1.25 per cent to settle at 34,049.10, while the BSE FMCG index was down 1.22 per cent to close at 20,739.02.
Overall, out of the 4,260 active stocks traded on the BSE, 2,173 ended with gains, while 1,920 settled lower and 167 remained unchanged. As many as 135 stocks scaled their 52-week highs during the session. A total of 64 others hit their 52-week lows. The session also saw 236 stocks locked at their respective upper circuits and 143 others at lower circuits.