Sensex, Nifty end higher after choppy session; RBI, Fed in focus
Sensex, Nifty end higher after choppy session; RBI, Fed in focus
Indian benchmarks closed modestly up as blue-chip buying steadied after early losses, with investors eyeing RBI policy and US Fed outcomes.
Indian equity benchmarks closed with modest gains on Friday after a see-saw session. The BSE Sensex began the day negative, sliding 449.35 points to 84,029.32, and the NSE Nifty fell 138.35 points to 25,740.80. However, gains in blue-chip counters helped the indices pare losses and close higher for the fourth straight session. Sensex ended at 84,562.78, up 84.11 points (0.10%), while Nifty finished at 25,910.05, up 30.90 points (0.12%).
Market breadth showed selective buying in the latter part of the session, with several heavyweight names helping the indices recover from the day’s lows. From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Trent, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, ITC, PowerGrid, Tata Motors Ltd's Commercial Vehicles business, and Bajaj Finserv were the gainers. Infosys, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki India, and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
The rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 88.73 against the U.S. dollar, weighing on sentiment for some market players. Investors shifted focus to upcoming RBI MPC and US Fed FOMC meetings, adding to the wait-and-watch mood.
On the global front, Asian markets such as Kospi, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225 and SSE Composite ended lower. European stocks were also broadly lower, while U.S. markets closed largely weaker in overnight sessions. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers for the fourth day in a row, offloading equities worth ₹383.68 crore on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors continued their buying spree, picking up stocks worth ₹3,091.87 crore. Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.51%.
Cover image source: Markets open lower on global selloff; Bihar election results in focus 🔗
