Indian equity benchmarks ended their three-day winning streak on Friday as profit booking at higher levels weighed on frontline indices. At 12 PM, the BSE
Sensex was down 474 points, or 0.57%, at 82,540, while the Nifty50 slipped 123 points, or 0.48%, to 25,300. Market Opening The markets opened slightly lower on Friday, with Nifty50 at 25,393.55, down 30 points or 0.12%, and the BSE Sensex at 82,871.61, down 142 points or 0.17%. Market experts anticipate the upward trajectory to persist, with tariff-related developments likely to influence short-term sentiment. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The market is on an uptrend and is well positioned to set new records soon. Fundamentals, technicals, and sentiments are favourable for a steady uptrend. Earnings are expected to improve from Q3 onwards. Technically, short covering can accelerate gains. On the sentiment side, reports of a potential US-India trade deal without penal tariffs are also boosting confidence. FIIs have reduced their selling and even turned marginal buyers. In brief, it is advantage bulls.” Global & Macro Cues
- US Markets: Wall Street closed at record highs on Thursday after the US Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Intel shares surged following Nvidia’s announcement of a strategic stake purchase.
- Asian Equities: Asian indices hovered near record intraday highs, mirroring the bullish global trend.
- Commodities: Crude oil prices remained stable after Thursday’s decline, with traders balancing Fed rate cut optimism against concerns over US fuel consumption.
- Flows: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) purchased shares worth ₹366.69 crore net on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were strong buyers with ₹3,326 crore in net purchases.
Market Highlights
- Top Gainers: Adani Ports, SBI, Asian Paints, NTPC, and Sun Pharma gained up to 1.24%.
- Top Losers: Titan, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, and Infosys fell up to 0.35%.
- Broader Markets: Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 remained resilient with marginal gains of 0.03%.
Sectoral Trends:
- Nifty PSU Bank outperformed with a 1.47% jump, buoyed by bullish coverage from brokerages.
- Media, Pharma, Oil & Gas indices advanced up to 0.50%.
- Private Bank and Auto indices slipped nearly 0.80%.
Key Stock Buzz
- Vodafone Idea surged 6% after the Centre told the Supreme Court it would not oppose the company’s plea against additional AGR dues.
- SBI stock hit its highest level of 2025, climbing to ₹863.50 despite weak overall sentiment.
- Adani Power received an ‘Overweight’ rating from Morgan Stanley, with a bull-case upside of 65%.
- Systematix Institutional Equities turned bullish on PSBs like BoB, Union Bank, and Bank of India, projecting up to 30% upside.
- Unichem Labs slumped nearly 5% after receiving a €19.49 million fine notice from the European Commission.
- VMS TMT IPO closed with an oversubscription of 25x, with grey market premiums at 17%.
Analysts believe the ongoing profit booking is part of a healthy consolidation after sharp gains earlier in the week. With global central banks turning dovish, FIIs reducing selling, and domestic flows staying strong, the medium-term outlook remains bullish. PSU banks and select large caps are expected to remain in focus, while global developments, especially the US-India trade talks, could guide near-term market direction.
