Markets recoil for fourth day; post weekly losses

Mumbai, October 22

Market benchmarks nursed losses for the fourth consecutive session on Friday, weighed by IT, FMCG and metal stocks, as risk appetite remained subdued amid muted corporate earnings and foreign fund outflows.

Participants were also in wait-and-watch mode ahead of Q2 results by market heavyweight Reliance Industries, traders said.

Reversing early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 101.88 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 60,821.62. 

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty shed 63.20 points or 0.35 per cent to finish at 18,114.90.

ITC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tumbling 3.39 per cent, followed by Maruti, Infosys, NTPC, HCL Tech, Tata Steel and M&M.

On the other hand, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were among the winners, rising up to 2.11 per cent.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex lost 484.33 points or 0.79 per cent, while the Nifty fell 223.65 points or 1.21 per cent.

“Despite a strong opening owing to favourable global cues, domestic indices continued its losing streak succumbing to profit booking and barring banks and realty stocks, all major sectors bled. 

“The global market traded green as investors welcomed a surprise interest payment by China’s debt-ridden major property developer. However, the Indian market is impacted by muted Q2 results, which are weak than forecasted due to high input cost,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. 

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking, said while traders are complaining of excessive volatility across the board, the recent fall is helping investors to accumulate quality stocks which are available at good bargains.

Sectorally, BSE metal, basic materials, FMCG, teck and healthcare dropped as much as 2.93 per cent, while realty, bankex, finance and consumer durables finished higher.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices tumbled up to 1.20 per cent.

Global markets were on track for third straight weekly gains, boosted by tech stocks, while investors also cheered a bond payment by the embattled China Evergrande Group. 

In Asia, bourses in Seoul and Shanghai ended in the red, while Hong Kong and Tokyo settled with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with gains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 74.90 against the US dollar.

International oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.52 per cent to USD 85.05 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 2,818.90 crore, as per exchange data. PTI