Sensex, Nifty Trade Lower as Financials Weigh; IT and Auto Buck the Trend

Indian equities remained under pressure in Friday’s morning trade, with weakness in financial stocks offsetting gains in IT and auto counters. At around 11:30 am, the Sensex was trading at 78,579.11, down 375.65 points or 0.48 per cent, while the Nifty 50 stood at 24,584.05, lower by 51.95 points or 0.21 per cent.

The broader market showed a mixed trend. The Nifty Bank was down 211.90 points or 0.36 per cent at 57,851.75. In contrast, the Nifty Midcap 100 edged 0.18 per cent higher to 63,442.75, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped around 0.14 per cent to 19,850.80. The divergence suggests that selling pressure remains concentrated in select Large-Cap financial stocks rather than across the broader market.

Sectorally, Nifty IT was among the strongest performers, gaining around 1.16 per cent, while Nifty Auto advanced around 1.01 per cent. Buying in stocks such as TCS, Tech Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp and Samvardhana Motherson supported these indices. On the other hand, Nifty Financial Services fell around 0.94 per cent, Nifty Private Bank declined 0.70 per cent and Nifty Bank was down around 0.44 per cent. Financial stocks faced additional pressure after an RBI draft proposal raised concerns around revolving credit products offered by NBFCs.

Among individual stocks, Siemens Energy India surged nearly 9.9 per cent to around Rs 3,575.50 after its Q3 results showed a 67.8 per cent rise in profit to Rs 440.9 crore and a 39.3 per cent increase in revenue to Rs 2,485.6 crore. Samvardhana Motherson International jumped around 8.6 per cent to Rs 168.28 after Q1 net profit more than doubled to Rs 1,032.05 crore and operating margins improved.

Britannia Industries also gained around 3.5 per cent to Rs 5,592 after reporting roughly 14 per cent growth in quarterly profit. On the losing side, Bajaj Finance dropped around 4.4 per cent to Rs 1,094.20 as investors assessed the potential impact of the RBI’s proposed restrictions on revolving credit facilities for NBFCs.

Institutional activity remained supportive from domestic investors. Friday’s final cash-market figures are not available during Intraday trade. In the latest provisional data for Thursday, August 6, FIIs were net sellers of Rs 17 crore, while DIIs purchased equities worth Rs 4,013 crore on a net basis.

Global cues were cautious. Overnight, the Dow Jones fell 0.85 per cent, the S&P 500 slipped 0.18 per cent and the Nasdaq declined 0.06 per cent. Asian markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei down around 0.9 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi lower by 0.5 per cent. Brent crude moved above USD 84 per barrel amid continued concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, while the Dollar Index hovered near 99.95.

For the Nifty, the 24,500 zone is the immediate support to watch, while 24,600 to 24,700 could act as the first resistance band. Investors will also track earnings from SBI, Titan, Hindalco and other major companies, along with US jobs data, crude oil movements and further developments around the RBI’s NBFC proposals.

Market movements remain earnings and news driven, making stock-specific developments particularly important in the current session.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.