Indian benchmark indexes decreased on Friday. This limited their weekly gains. Broad-based sectoral losses and investor anxiety over geopolitical tensions following a deadly militant attack in Kashmir weighed on the market.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.86% to 24,039.35. The BSE Sensex lost 0.74% to 79,212.53.
Both benchmarks rose about 0.8% each this week. The IT index jumped 6.6% to log their best week since June 7, 2024.
Analysts attributed the sharp gains in the IT index to better-than-feared earnings outlooks by software companies. They also cited hopes of easing trade tensions.
Twelve of the 13 major sectors declined on the day.
The broader, more domestically focused small-caps and mid-caps lost about 2.5% each. Investors became risk-averse after an attack on tourists in Kashmir killed 26 men and heightened geopolitical tensions.
In contrast to domestic equities, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index advanced 0.3%. U.S. President Donald Trump said trade talks between the world’s top two economies were underway. He pushed back against contradicting Chinese claims.
VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, stated, “While the return of foreign inflows and expectations of a bilateral trade deal between India and the U.S. are strong tailwinds for the markets, the potential headwind looming large is the uncertainty regarding India’s response to the terror attack.”
Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries traded flat ahead of reporting fourth-quarter results later in the day.
Car maker Maruti Suzuki fell 1.7% after posting a surprise profit drop in the March quarter.
Private lender Axis Bank lost 3.4% as brokerages flagged weak loan growth. The bank reported results on Thursday and indicated “it may take a few quarters for asset quality to improve.”
SBI Life jumped 5.4%, bucking the trend. They logged a 10% year-on-year growth in value of new business in the March quarter.
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