India's benchmark stock indices fell the most in seven weeks to end lower on Friday, dragged lower by heavyweights, the HDFC twins, after MSCI said it would add HDFC Bank Ltd. to MSCI Global Standard Indices after the merger with HDFC Ltd. The inclusion will lead to no incremental inflows but a slight outflow of up to $200 million, according to Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research.
However, on a weekly basis, the headline indices were largely unchanged and ended mixed despite the fall on Friday. The Nifty advanced while the Sensex declined. Stocks in the banking, NBFC, and media sectors declined while auto and consumer durable stocks advanced. Nifty closed below the 18,100 level, whereas Sensex dropped to the 61,100 mark. The indices fell the most in over seven weeks since March 13, 2023.
Asian stocks were mixed and the dollar weakened as investors weighed the prospect of the Federal Reserve reversing its policy-tightening campaign ahead of the U.S. jobs data due later Friday.
European stocks were steady as they headed for the worst weekly decline in seven on another busy day of earnings. U.S. equity futures edged higher as investors awaited jobs data for clues on the strength of the economy.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 695 points, or 1.13%, lower at 61,054.29, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 187 points, or 1.02%, to close at 18,069.
HDFC Bank Ltd., HDFC Ltd., Infosys Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd., and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. were among the top laggards in the Nifty 50.
ITC Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Titan Co., L&T Ltd., and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. were among the top gainers in the index.
The broader market indices ended lower, with the S&P BSE MidCap closing 0.50% lower and the S&P BSE SmallCap declining 0.39% at the end of the market.
Thirteen out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while six sectors advanced in trade.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the sellers. About 1,498 stocks rose, 2,014 declined, and 128 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The headline indices ended the week on a mixed note. The Sensex logged weekly losses of 0.10%, whereas the Nifty advanced 0.02%.
Last week, the S&P BSE Sensex Index advanced 2.44%, and the NSE Nifty 50 Index was up 2.50%.
Sectorally, Nifty Auto, Nifty Midcap 100, and Nifty FMCG led the pack, while Nifty Bank, Nifty Media, and Nifty PSU Bank were the worst performers of the week.
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