Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined for a third straight day on Friday due to profit-taking in consumer durables, FMCG, banking and IT shares amid lingering worries over commodity prices, interest rate hike and geopolitical tensions.
The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 233.48 points or 0.41% to settle at 57,362.20. During the day, it tanked 495.44 points to 57,100.24.
The broader NSE Nifty declined 69.75 points or 0.40% to settle at 17,153.
The equity indices closed the week lower after two straight weeks of gains. Sensex fell by 501 points while Nifty closed the week lower by 134 points.
"The Indian equity market continue to be in a grind, influenced by and reacting to incremental news flow on the global front, especially related to the geopolitical situation and Fed rhetoric. The two key challenges and monitorables for the markets in the near term are the persistent inflationary pressures and the rising bond yields," said Milind Muchhala, Executive Director, Julius Baer.
From the 30-share pack, Titan fell the most by 3.59%, Tech Mahindra by 2.35%, Maruti Suzuki India by 1.79%, and Wipro by 1.18%.
Among major index downers, HDFC Bank declined 0.76, TCS by 1.12%, and Infosys by 0.55%.
ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel and ITC also dropped.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy's continued its steller run, rising by 0.77%. Asian Paints rose 0.76%, and Reliance Industries by 0.73%. Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank also advanced.
"After the recent 10 per cent rally, the market has turned sideways with a negative bias due to increase in commodity prices, tightening monetary policy and inflationary pressure. Domestic market is showing strong resilience but to sustain the trend a lot will depend on the outcome of the war and commodity prices," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap dipped 0.36% and smallcap gauge declined 0.33%.
A total of 2,078 declined, while 1,329 advanced and 103 remained unchanged.
Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables declined the most by 2.28%, followed by capital goods (0.95%), FMCG (0.72%) and Information Technology (0.68%).
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower, while Tokyo and Seoul settled with marginal gains.
Stock exchanges in the U.S. ended higher in the overnight session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.44% to $117.32 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth ₹1,740.71 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.
