The stock market on Friday recovered from the day’s low to end flat in a volatile session. Selling pressure was seen in FMCG, IT, and realty stocks, while buying in auto, metal, media, and consumer discretionary counters helped pare intraday losses.
At close, the Sensex was down 7.25 points, or 0.01%, at 80,710.76, while the Nifty gained 6.70 points, or 0.03%, to end at 24,741. Both BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices finished flat.
Among the sectors, Nifty IT fell 1.44%, FMCG dropped 1.42%, and Realty slipped 1.16%. On the gaining side, Nifty Auto jumped 1.25%, Nifty Metal advanced 0.68%, and Media added 0.59%. Nifty Bank ended marginally higher by 0.07%, while the Financial Services index edged up 0.14%.
On Nifty, top gainers included Eicher Motors (up 2.41%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.34%), and Shriram Finance (up 1.68%). In total, 28 stocks ended in the green.
The key laggards were ITC (down 1.92%), Cipla (down 1.69%), and HCL Technologies (down 1.61%).
As many as 135 stocks hit their 52-week highs, including CCL Products (India) Ltd, Cummins India Ltd, Eternal Ltd, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd, HBL Engineering Ltd, Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd, L&T Finance Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Muthoot Finance Ltd, FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, RBL Bank Ltd, and Zydus Wellness Ltd.
In contrast, 64 stocks touched their 52-week lows, such as Affordable Robotic & Automation Ltd, Alpa Laboratories Ltd, Alacrity Securities Ltd, Anuroop Packaging Ltd, Brand Concepts Ltd, Gem Aromatics Ltd, Imagicaaworld Entertainment Ltd, Maral Overseas Ltd, Medicamen Biotech Ltd, Raymond Realty Ltd, Regaal Resources Ltd, Shivalik Rasayan Ltd, Sprayking Ltd, Suyog Telematics Ltd, and Vikram Solar Ltd.
For the week, both benchmarks posted gains, with the Nifty rising 1.3% and the Sensex up 1.1%, buoyed by the GST Council’s decision to reduce taxes on common goods.
Globally, US and Asian markets registered gains ahead of the US jobs report, a key indicator shaping expectations of a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve.