Sensex on Friday settled mildly after a week of volatility. The domestic benchmark oscillated between gains and losses throughout the session after finally settling 36.74 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 58,803.33 while Nifty dropped 3.35 points or 0.02 per cent ending at 17,539.45.
A look at the top performers in the Sensex pack showed HDFC spurting 1.75 per cent, followed by ITC, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and SBI. Meanwhile companies like Maruti, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and Infosys were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.19 per cent.
"The market has struggled for a firm direction today as global markets were largely under selling pressure ahead of the release of US jobs data, which could provide insight into upcoming Fed actions.
"Oil prices rose ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on the expectation of a reduction in output, despite the fact that weak global growth prospects remain a concern. A surging dollar index and rising US bond yields could be reflected in the elevated volatility of the domestic market in the near term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
During the holiday-shortened week, the Sensex dipped 30.54 points or 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty lost 19.45 points or 0.11 per cent. "Indian markets have been showing resilience despite several global headwinds. While markets in the near term may remain volatile in a broader range, we are positive on the mid- to long-term perspective on the back of healthy domestic macros, strong fundamentals, earnings growth and upbeat festive season.
"Broader market has been outperforming well and is likely to remain in flavour with action in niche midcap sectors," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. The broader market ended on a mixed note on Friday, with the BSE smallcap gauge climbing 0.04 per cent and midcap index falling 0.35 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, capital goods jumped 1.13 per cent, industrials 0.87 per cent, bankex 0.40 per cent and FMCG 0.33 per cent.
Metal, energy, basic materials, oil & gas, realty were among the losers. World stocks were mixed ahead of US jobs data, which would provide clues on the pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Fresh Covid lockdowns in China also stoked fears of a fresh hit to global growth.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended lower, while Shanghai settled in the green. Bourses in Europe were trading with gains during mid-session deals. The US markets had ended mostly higher on Thursday. Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 2.01 per cent to USD 94.22 per barrel.
The rupee declined by 26 paise to close at 79.82 (provisional) against the US currency on Friday, tracking Asian peers and strong dollar demand from importers. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 2,290.31 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.
