Indices snap 4-week gaining streak: Sensex ends 87 pts lower, Nifty just above 18,300 level

The 30-share Sensex ended 87 points lower at 61,663, while its broader peer Nifty 50 settled just above the 18,300 level.

Among Sensex stocks, M&M,

, , , and were the top losers in today’s trading, falling about 1-2.4%. ITC, , , , and also ended with cuts.

On the other hand,

, , HUL, SBI, , and ended the session with gains.

Sectorally, the Nifty Auto dropped 1.18% and Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.72%. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare index also closed lower. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap50 fell 0.51% and Smallcap50 dropped 0.26%.

“The Nifty witnessed muted action in the week gone by & ultimately posted a negative weekly close after four consecutive positive weeks. The short-term momentum indicators have been showing negative divergence, which is a sign of weakness & the price action is expected to follow the suit,” Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research at Sharekhan, said.

“Going ahead, the Nifty is expected to tumble towards 18,100-18,000 in the short term. On the higher side, 18,450 has been acting as a resistance for the index & will continue to act as a cap for the short term. The broader end of the market is expected to see deeper cuts in the short term,” Ratnaparkhi added.

Earlier in Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.11% and China’s Shanghai Composite plunged 0.58% while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.06%.

The Indian rupee inched lower on Friday and ended at 81.68 per US dollar, down from 81.65 in the previous session. Whereas, the Brent crude January futures rose 0.22% to $89.97 per barrel.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bears. About 2,054 stocks declined, 1,448 gained and 124 remained unchanged. The market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies decreased by Rs 86,000 crore to Rs 282.34 lakh crore.

“Cyclical sectors came under selling pressure even as there was a feeling of fatigue among traders due to subdued volatility. Broad market continued to underperform as the A/D ratio remained much below 1:1. Cues from the US Fed members hinting at continued rate hikes on Thursday pricked sentiments globally. Nifty could now find support at the 18,044-18,103 band while 18,409 could act as a resistance in the near term,” Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said.

The government bond yields advanced for a third consecutive session, the benchmark Indian 10-year government bond yield ended at 7.3077%, up from 7.2808% in the previous session.