April 26th 2024.
Mumbai saw a decline in market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on Friday after a strong five-day rally. Investors seemed to be trimming their exposure to banking, financial, and consumer durable stocks, possibly due to mixed trends in global markets. Traders mentioned that rising global crude prices, a weakening rupee, and continued foreign fund outflows also contributed to the negative sentiment.
Profit-taking was another factor that played a role in the market decline. The BSE Sensex, which had been on an upward trend, dropped 609.28 points or 0.82 percent to settle at 73,730.16. In fact, at one point during the day, it had even lost 722.79 points or 0.97 percent to 73,616.65. The NSE Nifty also saw a decline of 150.40 points or 0.67 percent to 22,419.95.
The biggest drag on the Sensex was Bajaj Finance, which saw a drop of almost 8 percent after its March quarter earnings failed to impress investors. Another company within the Bajaj group, Bajaj Finserv, also saw a decline of over 3 percent. Other major laggards included IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
However, not all was doom and gloom in the market. Tech Mahindra saw a jump of over 7 percent after the IT services company's CEO shared an ambitious three-year plan to boost revenue growth and improve margins. Other gainers in the market included Wipro, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Titan, and Axis Bank.
Commenting on the market decline, Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP of Mehta Equities Ltd., said that it was expected after the benchmark indices had rallied for five consecutive sessions. He also attributed the correction to global factors, such as the Japanese Yen hitting a 34-year low and disappointing US data leading to higher benchmark yields, which could delay any potential interest rate cuts in the medium term.
In other global markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all closed in the positive territory, while European markets were trading in the green. However, Wall Street ended lower on Thursday. The global oil benchmark Brent crude also saw a slight increase of 0.31 percent, reaching $89.29 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee saw a decline of 7 paise against the US dollar, closing at 83.35 on Friday. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors also offloaded equities worth Rs 2,823.33 crore on Thursday. In the previous session, the BSE benchmark had climbed 486.50 points or 0.66 percent to settle at 74,339.44, while the NSE Nifty had advanced 167.95 points or 0.75 percent to 22,570.35.
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