MUMBAI : The Indian stock market lost momentum on Friday after Thursday’s sharp recovery, with the benchmark indices finishing almost unchanged despite buying in banks and smaller companies.
The Sensex added 3.11 points to close at 77,540.83, while the Nifty 50 rose 20.15 points, or 0.08%, to 24,252.00. The Nifty had ended a seven-session losing run a day earlier.
The Nifty traded in a narrow range for most of the session, moving between 24,206 and 24,284 before settling near the day’s middle.
Buying was stronger outside the large-cap index. The small-cap index gained around 1.2%, while the mid-cap index slipped about 0.1%. Private banks were among the stronger pockets, with Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank drawing buying interest.
Technology stocks faced a different session. The Nifty IT index fell about 2.6%, with investors still watching US inflation and global bond yields. Twelve of the 16 major sectoral indices closed in the red.
Power Grid was among the stocks that gained, while Infosys and Maruti Suzuki came under selling pressure.
Crude oil continued to hang over the market. Higher oil prices have raised concerns about India’s import bill and inflation, while rising bond yields overseas remain a concern for foreign investors in emerging markets.
The day’s sharpest stock move came from Welspun Corp. The company’s shares jumped more than 15% after it announced a $1.8 billion pipe-supply order from the United States. The company said the contract was its largest single order and would be supplied from its US manufacturing facility.
The order is scheduled for execution in FY2027-28 and FY2028-29, taking Welspun Corp’s global order book to about $4.4 billion. The stock also touched a record high during the session.
Thursday’s rebound was therefore not enough to turn the week positive. The Nifty ended the week down about 0.5%, while the Sensex declined around 0.6%.
Friday’s closing numbers: Sensex 77,540.83 | Nifty 24,252.00 | Nifty weekly change -0.5% | Sensex weekly change -0.6%.
