Indian benchmark indices experienced high volatility as investors booked profits on the last trading session of the week. Both Nifty and Sensex closed with marginal declines.
The Nifty 50 index, which touched a new high early in the session, closed at 23,501.10, down 65 points. The BSE Sensex fell 269 points to close at 77,209.
“The domestic market witnessed minor profit booking amid concerns over the slow progress of the monsoon, resulting in underperformance in the FMCG sector. The heatwave in Northern India is driving consumer durables stocks up,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“Global markets were subdued as weak guidance from Accenture led to profit booking in US tech stocks. Conversely, domestic IT stocks saw buying interest as market participants appeared to have factored in weaker earnings. Attention is now focused on the upcoming GST meeting, where the potential rationalization of GST rates in certain sectors is under discussion,” he added.
The decline was driven by significant selling pressure in heavyweight stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, L&T, HUL, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance.
Top gainers in the Nifty 50 included Bharti Airtel, LTIMindtree, Adani Ports, Hindalco, and Infosys. The shares of Ultratech Cements, Adani Ports, BPCL, Tata Motors, and Tata Consumer Products fell the most.
In the Nifty 50 index, 32 stocks declined while 18 gained. In the broader market, all indices closed with declines except Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Midcap Select.
“The rupee faced a slight negative bias against the US Dollar amidst strong US Treasury yields and disappointing manufacturing and services PMI data from Germany and the Eurozone,” said Varun Aggarwal, MD of Profit Idea.
In the oil market, WTI crude oil futures rose for the fourth consecutive day, supported by heightened geopolitical tensions in Gaza and Lebanon. US crude inventories showed a surprise decline last week, further bolstering oil prices amid expectations of increased travel demand over the US Fourth of July holiday period.
(With ANI input)