Sensex & Nifty take a breather after record sprint, profit-booking in bank stocks spoils investors’ mood
The S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 both reached new record highs before retreating slightly. The Sensex ended the day at 79,033, down 0.27%, while the Nifty closed at 24,010.60, down 0.14%. The decline was led by the banking and financial services sectors, which fell up to 1%. However, healthcare and oil & gas sectors saw gains exceeding 1%.
Indian headline indices ended their four-session gaining streak on Friday even after hitting fresh highs dragged by selling pressure in bank stocks. The 30-stock S&P BSE scaled a new peak of 79671.58, before ending the day at 79,033, declining 210 points or 0.27% while the broader hit the lifetime high of 24,174 before settling at 24,010.60, lower by 34 points or 0.14%.Banking gauge Nifty Bank on Friday settled at 52,342.25, down by 469.05 points or 0.89%.
Of the 16 sectoral indices on the NSE, 5 ended in the red with the Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services ending up as major losers which fell up to 1%. Among the major gainers were Nifty Healthcare index and Nifty Oil & Gas, which were up in excess of 1%.
Expert Take
Commenting on the day's action, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the sentiment continues to remain strong as the index closed significantly above the critical moving average, though it looks a bit heavy after a continuous rally and could attract profit booking if Nifty sustains below 24,000.On charts, the index has formed a small-bodied red candle, he said, expecting Nifty to fall towards 23,850-23,700 in the short term upon a decisive fall below 24,000. On the higher end, resistance is visible at 24,200, he added.
Global Markets
Major Asian markets gave a mixed closing as Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.61% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended flat albeit slightly positive. China's Shanghai Composite was up by 0.73% while Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index fell 0.27%.Major European headline indices were trading largely positive around 4 pm India time. UK's FTSE was up by 0.54% while Germany's Dax was higher by 0.60%. Spain's IBEX and Stoxx 600 gained by up to 0.26%. Meanwhile, French CAC 40 traded 0.40% lower.
Currency Watch
The Indian rupee ended stronger on Friday, aided by inflows spurred by the inclusion of the country's bonds into the JPMorgan emerging market debt index. The rupee closed at 83.3825 against the US dollar on Friday, up nearly 0.1% from its close at 83.46 in the previous session, Reuters reported.Eligible Indian bonds are being included into the widely tracked JPMorgan index starting Friday, setting the stage for billions of dollars to flow into the world's fifth-largest economy.
While large foreign banks were spotted offering dollars, state-run banks' dollar bids capped the rupee's gains, traders said.
The rupee has also fared better than most of its Asian peers over the first half of calendar year 2024 aided by portfolio inflows, a strong macroeconomic backdrop and intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Crude Impact
Crude oil prices were trading higher on Friday with US WTI oil contracts trading at $82.57, up by $0.83 or 1.02% while Brent oil futures were hovering near $85.24, higher by $0.80 or 0.95%.On the MCX, the July Crude Oil futures were trading at Rs 6,785 per BBL, up by Rs 20 or 0.29%.
Oil is currently trading at multiple month highs buoyed by strong global demand and geopolitical tensions.
Source: Stocks-Markets-Economic Times
