Indian benchmark indices retreated on Friday after reaching historic highs the previous day. The BSE Sensex dropped by 210 points, or 0.27 percent, settling at 79,032.73, while the Nifty 50 ended 35 points, or 0.15 percent, lower at 24,010.
The Bank Nifty declined by 469 points, or 0.89 percent, closing at 52,342.25. Other sectors that finished in negative territory included auto, FMCG, IT, metal, pharma, PSU banks, realty, consumer durables, and oil and gas.
Top gainers on the Nifty 50 included Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, ONGC, Reliance Industries, SBI Life Insurance, and Tata Motors.
Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, and IndusInd Bank were among the major losers.
Bharti Airtel’s stock surged following the company’s decision to raise rates for its data services.
In thematic indices, Nifty Energy led with a gain of 1.18 percent. Stocks in Nifty CPSE, Infrastructure, and Midcap Liquid 15 also posted gains.
“We expect this momentum to continue into July, with the Union Budget and the results season acting as catalysts to market progress,” said Ajay Bagga, banking and market expert.
Both the Nifty-50 Index and Sensex gained around 2.5% each over the past week, scaling new all-time highs as market expectations turned bullish.
“The improvement in market sentiment over the past week suggests that the market has steadied post Lok Sabha elections. Markets remained optimistic about strong government support for the economy, especially for the manufacturing sector in the upcoming Union Budget,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research.
Commodity markets showed mixed performance as spot gold rebounded, closing 1.27 percent higher at USD 2327. Base metals and the energy complex, however, experienced declines. US Treasury yields eased to 4.28 percent, exerting downward pressure on the Dollar Index.
(With ANI input)
