The Indian stock market turned negative on Friday, October 24, as investors booked profits following a six-session rally. Rising crude prices, driven by fresh U.S. sanctions on Russian producers, sparked renewed inflation concerns, although domestic factors continue to support bullish sentiment.
The Nifty 50 ended the session down 0.37% at 25,795 but still posted a weekly gain of 0.33%. Similarly, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.42% lower at 84,200 but register a 0.30% rise for the week. Notably, this marks the first time in 2025 that both indices have posted gains for four consecutive weeks.
The broader market moved in line with the headline indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling 0.24% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipping 0.21% on the day. However, both indices still managed weekly gains of up to 0.72%.
Although there was a broad-based sell-off, metal stocks managed to stay in positive territory as the sharp rally in global base metal prices provided strong support, making the Nifty Metal index the top sectoral performer with a gain of 1.06%.
The Nifty Realty and Nifty Oil & Gas indices also ended higher, rising 0.32% and 0.21%, respectively.
On the other hand, private banking stocks emerged as the top laggards, with the recent rally prompting profit booking. The Nifty Private Bank index lost 0.81% of its value, while the Nifty FMCG index also declined 0.72%.
The Nifty Consumer Durables, Pharma, and Media indices ended lower as well, slipping between 0.4% and 0.5%.
(more to come)