Heavy selling was seen in the stock market on Friday, the markets closed sharply lower for the fifth consecutive day. Sensex fell 605 points to close at 83,576. Nifty fell 194 points to close at 25,683. Nifty Bank fell 435 points to close at 59,252, and in the currency market the rupee weakened by 14 paise to close at 90.16/$. The market weakness was due to selling by FIIs, selling in heavyweight stocks, and fear created by Donald Trump’s statements and tariffs. Sharp selling in mid-cap and small-cap stocks weakened investor sentiment. The Midcap Select index lost about 2.2%, while the Smallcap 100 index fell 3.1%.
Weakest sectors of the week
In terms of sectoral performance this week, the energy sector was under the most pressure. Nifty Energy fell by about 5.1%. Nifty Metal declined by 2.8%, and Nifty FMCG fell by 1.1%. Nifty IT was the only sector that provided some relief, gaining 0.67%.
Who were the top gainers and losers on Nifty?
On Nifty 50, Adani Enterprises, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, and ICICI Bank were under considerable pressure today. On the other hand, Asian Paints, ONGC, BEL, and HCL Tech showed strength and tried to provide limited support to the market.
Some stocks saw particularly sharp fluctuations today. Alcon Engineering fell heavily by about 16%. IEX fell about 7.5%, while Manappuram Finance lost 8.7%. Andhra Cement was also under pressure.
Which stocks saw high trading volume?
Stocks that saw strong trading volumes today included HDFC Bank, BEL, Jio Financial, and Tata Motors. Besides, Balu Forge, Force Motors, Thangamayil Jewellery, and Tejas Networks were the top losers in the day trading. Meanwhile, MTAR Technologies, Gokaldas Exports, NALCO, and Aarti Pharmalabs performed strongly and were among the top gainers.
How was the opening? After a sharp fall in the stock market yesterday, the market opened with a slight rise on Friday. At opening, the Sensex was trading around 84,337, up 150 points. Nifty was trading at 25,922, up 45 points. Bank Nifty was trading flat. On Nifty 50, good gains were seen in ONGC, BEL, Asian Paints, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Eternal and Tech Mahindra. However, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Shriram Finance, NTPC, TMPV and Max Health were trading lower. Slight gains were seen in IT, PSU Bank and Oil & Gas indices. Meanwhile, indices like realty, media, healthcare and NBFC witnessed heavy selling pressure.
Compared to the previous closing price, the Sensex opened 158 points down at 84,022. Nifty opened 36 points down at 25,840, and Bank Nifty opened 128 points down at 59,558. There was strength in the currency market. Rupee opened 15 paise stronger at 89.90/$. Several important triggers on the global and domestic front are expected to impact investor sentiments. The market will be closely watching continued selling by foreign investors, mixed cues from US markets, sharp volatility in commodities, and India coking coal IPO and earnings season starting today.
