Nifty, Sensex Snap Three–Day Losing Streak But End Week Lower: Market Wrap

The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex snapped a three–session losing streak on Friday, tracking a rise in the shares of ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd.

The Nifty 50 ended 104.20 points or 0.42% higher at 24,854.05 and the Sensex ended 218.14 points or 0.27% higher at 81,224.75. During the day, the Nifty 50 declined as much as 0.74% to 24,567.65, and the Sensex fell 0.74% to 80,409.25.

The stock markets reversed the three-day fall as investors resorted to value buying in banking, metals and realty stocks, which had seen a sharp downfall in recent sessions. Geopolitical uncertainty, sluggishness in the Chinese economy and persistent outflows of foreign institutional investors from the domestic markets have led to caution, according to Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of research at Mehta Equities Ltd.

On a weekly basis, the Nifty 50 and the Sensex declined for three weeks in a row. The Nifty 50 and the Sensex closed 0.44% and 0.19% lower respectively in the week ended on Oct. 18.

ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd. and NTPC Ltd. led the gains in the Nifty 50.

Infosys Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., ITC Ltd., Britannia Industries Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. weighed on the index the most.

This week, eight out of the 12 sectors on the NSE ended lower and four closed higher. The Nifty Auto declined the most, while the Nifty Bank rose the most.

The broader indices were mixed as the BSE MidCap closed 0.2% higher and the SmallCap ended 0.16% down.

Seven out of the 20 sectoral indices on the BSE fell and 13 rose, with Bankex rising the most.

The market breadth was largely split between buyers and sellers as 1,942 stocks rose, 1,933 fell and 108 remained unchanged on the BSE.