With conflicting results from India Inc., a potential postponement of the US Fed rate drop, tensions in the Middle East, and ongoing FII selling, the Indian equity market continued to lose ground in the abbreviated week that concluded on January 25.
The BSE Sensex fell 722.98 points, or 1 percent, to close at 70,700.67 for the week, while the Nifty50 dropped 219.2 points, or 1 percent, to close at 21,352.6.
The small-cap index on the BSE decreased by 0.5%. A total of 20–37 percent was added by IFCI, Transformers and Rectifiers India, Salasar Techno Engineering, IFB Industries, Visaka Industries, Borosil Renewables, HLV, ALLSEC Technologies, Steel Exchange India, and Dhunseri Ventures, while Karnataka Bank, Zed Media Corporation, Tanla Platforms, Bliss GVS Pharma, MPS, MSTC, Angel One, Restaurant Brands Asia, and Cyient lost between 10-12 percent.
The BSE Mid-cap Index finished 1.6 percent lower, wiping off the gains from the previous week, led by the stocks of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Zed Entertainment Enterprises, Oberoi Realty, Indraprastha Gas, IDFC First Bank, and Balkrishna Industries.
With a 0.9 percent decline this week, the BSE Large-cap Index continued its downward trend. Axia Bank, Mankind Pharma, Asian Paints, Adani Energy Solutions, Havells India, Interglobe Aviation, Zydus Lifesciences, Indus Towers, Cipla, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories were the losers, and Bajaj Auto, The Tata Power Company, Zydus Lifesciences, Indus Towers, and Cipla were the winners.
HDFC Bank experienced the greatest decline in market value, trailed by Axis Bank, Asian Paints, and Tata Consultancy Services. However, the majority of their market capitalization was increased by Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Infosys.
The Nifty Media index lost 10%, the Nifty Realty index dropped 4.5 percent, the Nifty Bank index dropped 2.6 percent, and the Nifty PSU Bank index dropped 2 percent on a sectoral basis. However, the Nifty Pharma index increased by 1.7%.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offered some support during the week by purchasing stocks worth Rs 9,701.96 crore, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth Rs 12,194.38 crore. Thus far in January, FIIs have sold stocks valued at Rs 35,778.08 crore, while DIIs have bought stocks valued at Rs 19,976.66 crore.
The Indian rupee finished this week somewhat weaker than the US currency. In the week ending January 25, the local currency lost 5 paise, finishing at 83.11 as opposed to its closing value of 83.06 on January 19.