Sensex Halts 5-Day Winning Run, Ends 12 Points Lower, Nifty Holds 18,250; Asian Paints, Axis Bank Top Drags

The overall market breadth stood slightly positive as 2,068 stocks advanced while 1,334 declined on BSE.

New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks on Friday settled in red, halting a five-day winning run amid weak global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 12 points or 0.02 per cent to close at 61,223, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 2 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 18,256. Sensex recovered more than 450 points from its intraday low of 60,757 before settling a tad lower.

Global markets took a beating after more Federal Reserve policymakers signalled they will start to raise U.S. interest rates in March to combat inflation. Fed Governor Lael Brainard became the latest and most senior U.S. central banker to signal that rates will rise in March to combat inflation.

Back home, mid- and small-cap shares finished on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index slightly declined 0.02 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.75 per cent.

12 out of the 15 sector gauges — compiled by the National Stock Exchange — settled in red. Nifty FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) underperformed the index by sliding as much as 0.71 per cent.

“The winning streak of market was put to a halt on Friday. However, we saw some buying in quality counters in small-cap space. In coming days, we expect movement in markets to be sector-specific. However, mid- and small-cap space will show a good move in coming days. Overall, the market outlook looks positive and one should look to keep adding quality stocks in their portfolio. Traders should trade into sector-specific stocks, keep booking their profit and trail strict stop-loss,” Rahul Sharma, Co-owner, Equity 99, told NDTV.

“For Nifty 50, after today’s fall, 18,200 will act as very crucial support on breaking which we might see 18,120 levels. On the upper side, 18,300 will act as a crucial hurdle, if this level is breached, we might see 18,370 levels and then even 18,480 looks possible,” he added.

On the stock-specific front, Asian Paints was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 2.67 per cent to Rs 3,364. Axis Bank, UPL Ltd, Hindustan Unilever and ONGC were also among the laggards.

On the flipside, Tata Consumer Products, Indian Oil, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Adani Ports were among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood slightly positive as 2,068 stocks advanced while 1,334 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE platform, Asian Paints, Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and HDFC attracted the most losses with their shares falling as much as 2.66 per cent.

TCS, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers.

Meanwhile, HCL Technologies, Ashirwad Capital and Gujarat Hotels are some of the companies which will announce their respective third-quarter numbers later in the day.