Foreign investors moved to safe-haven dollar assets, causing the benchmark indices to drop 1.5% on Friday, their biggest weekly loss since June 2022 and their fifth straight day of decline in line with global counterparts.
The NSE Nifty was down 364.20 points, or 1.52%, to 23,587.50, while the Sensex fell 1,176.46 points, or 1.49%, to settle at 78,041.59. For the first time in the past month, the Nifty drops below its 200-day moving average. The worst week in 30 months was recorded by markets.
The Nifty fell 1,180.80 points, or 4.77%, over the week, while the Sensex fell 4,091.53 points or 4.98%. After four weeks of positive returns, there is a sell-off.
In contrast to the benchmarks’ 1.5% decrease, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices fell 2.43% and 2.11%, respectively, on Friday, reflecting increased selling pressure in broader markets. However, the broader indices reported lesser losses of about 3.2% each week.
All sectoral indices ended the week lower, except healthcare, which saw a gain of 0.10 percent. While the Bank Nifty plummeted 2,825 points, or 5.27%, the power, metal, utilities, capital goods, and PSU banks all saw declines of more than 6%.
Each of the 30 equities that make up the Sensex had a negative week-over-week return. Cipla (up 1.71%) and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (up 7.81%) were the only two of the 50 Nifty equities to remain in positive territory. Shriram Finance, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Bharat Electronics, Grasim Industries, and Adani Enterprises are among the top losers, having experienced a decline of more than 7%.
Investor wealth was destroyed by broad-based selling during the week, with half of the losses taking place on Friday, totaling Rs 18.43 lakh billion.
On Friday, shares worth Rs 3,598 crore and Rs 7,510 crore were net sold by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) over the week. By comparison, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares valued at Rs 11,874 crore for the week and Rs 1,374 crore on Friday.
