The stock market ended lower on Friday for a second consecutive session, marking the fifth straight week of losses. The Nifty closed below 24,600 on the first day of the August series.
Representative Image (IANS)
The stock market ended lower on Friday for a second consecutive session, marking the fifth straight week of losses. The Nifty closed below 24,600 on the first day of the August series.
Broad-based selling across sectors dampened investor sentiment, with pharmaceutical stocks being the hardest hit. Pharma, metal, and IT were among the top sectoral losers.
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Major pharmaceutical companies suffered sharp declines, with Aurobindo Pharma, Granules India, Sun Pharmaceutical, and Gland Pharma losing up to 5.3%.
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The broader indices underperformed, with the BSE Midcap index falling 1.3% and the Smallcap index down 1.6%. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined to ₹444.5 lakh crore from ₹449.7 lakh crore in the previous session.
Despite the sell-off, over 130 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE. These included Procter & Gamble Health, Radico Khaitan, Star Cement, Hitachi Energy, eClerx Services, JK Cement, Schneider Infrastructure, Fortis Healthcare, Bosch, Amber Enterprises, Chalet Hotels, and Maharashtra Scooters, among others.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) shares jumped nearly 8% intraday, taking the stock’s two-day gain to 12%.
Shares of Eicher Motors rallied 4% to ₹5,670 after the company reported a 9% rise in consolidated net profit at ₹1,205 crore.
On the Nifty, top losers included Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel, and Cipla. Top gainers were Trent, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, HUL, and Nestlé India.
Except for the FMCG index, all other sectoral indices ended in the red, with auto, realty, pharma, IT, metal, oil & gas, and PSU Bank indices declining by up to 2%.
Investor sentiment remained uncertain amid concerns over the impact of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on Indian imports.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) aggressively sold Indian equities in July, offloading stocks worth ₹47,667 crore in the cash segment—one of the largest monthly outflows in recent times.
While Q1 earnings of Indian corporates have largely been in line with expectations, they have failed to justify the market’s elevated valuations.
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