The Indian stock market ended in the green on Friday, 3 July, but retreated sharply from the day’s highs as investors booked profits at elevated levels, triggering a sharp reversal in the benchmark indices during the second half of the session.
The day began on a strong note, with the benchmark indices opening sharply higher, buoyed by robust buying in technology and pharma stocks. However, the market failed to sustain the momentum as the session progressed, giving up a significant portion of its intraday gains before ending with modest advances.
The Nifty 50 retreated 108 points from the day’s high to settle at 24,270, up 0.40% from the previous close. Meanwhile, the erased 391 points from its intraday high to end the session with a gain of 0.35%, closing at 77,766.
The broader market followed a similar trend, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 surrendering most of their intraday gains to end the session on a mixed note.
Among the sectoral gainers, Nifty Realty continued to lead the rally, rising another 2.25%. It was followed by Nifty Pharma, Nifty IT, and Nifty Cement, all of which gained more than 1%.
On the downside, Nifty PSU Bank extended its losing streak, falling 1.60%, while Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal slipped 0.44% each.
Meanwhile, technology stocks ended the week positively, with the Nifty IT index surging nearly 0.50%, as a softer-than-expected U.S. jobs report eased concerns over near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes.
The latest rebound has helped revive investor confidence in technology stocks, which remained under sustained selling pressure throughout the first half of the year.
Chemical, technology and pharma stocks lead the rally
Top gainers were led by , which surged 13.6% to ₹501 apiece. Meanwhile, Zensar Technologies extended its winning streak for a third consecutive session, climbing another 10.5% to ₹516 apiece. The latest rally helped the stock end the week with an impressive 16% gain.
After trading sideways for several sessions, rallied nearly 10% to settle at a six-month high of ₹258 apiece. Similarly, HFCL witnessed renewed buying interest, rising 5% to ₹214 apiece. IndusInd Bank jumped 3.3% to ₹974 apiece.
Technology stocks also attracted fresh buying, with Oracle Financial Services Software, Mphasis, and Persistent Systems advancing more than 2% each.
The rebound in gold prices also boosted sentiment in gold financing stocks, with Muthoot Finance gaining 3.6% to close at ₹3,054 apiece.
Capital goods, PSU bank and financial stocks drag the market
Capital goods stocks came under sharp selling pressure, with , Hitachi Energy India, Siemens Energy India, Thermax, and Apar Industries falling between 6% and 9%.
The sell-off followed the Centre’s decision to allow four Chinese-linked power equipment manufacturers with manufacturing facilities in India to participate in government tenders for critical domestic power projects.
According to a Reuters report, the government has permitted four Chinese power equipment manufacturers with factories in India to bid for critical power projects, citing an official government order.
Meanwhile, Union Bank of India shares slumped 6.5% to ₹163 after the lender’s June-quarter business update failed to impress investors. also declined 4.6% following its Q1 business update.
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