Amid a sharp recovery from the early intraday lows, the Indian key averages closed Friday’s session with minor losses, as second-half buying in financial and metal stocks helped offset early weakness in IT and FMCG counters.
The Nifty 50 closed with a marginal drop of 0.07% at the 25,497 level, while the S&P BSE Sensex settled 0.12% lower at 83,214 compared to the previous close. The broader markets, however, ended mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rallying 0.64% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index settling 0.19% lower.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index led the charge, surging 0.85%, followed by Nifty Auto, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Oil & Gas, all closing with gains of up to 1.40%.
On the flip side, the Nifty Consumer Durables index emerged as the top laggard, falling 0.71%, followed by the Nifty IT index, which declined 0.60%. The Nifty FMCG index also came under pressure, slipping 0.47%.
(more to come)