Indian stock markets post weekly losses despite Friday rally

Indian equity benchmarks ended the week with modest losses as rising West Asia tensions pushed crude oil prices higher. Strong gains on the final trading day, supported by banking and IT stocks, helped limit the weekly decline in the Nifty and Sensex.

Mumbai: After rallying for four consecutive weeks, the Indian equity benchmarks posted mild weekly losses as escalating tensions in West Asia pushed crude oil prices higher.

The Nifty declined 0.26 per cent during the week but gained 1.02 per cent on the last trading day to close at 24,206. The Sensex rose 827 points, or 1.08 per cent, to end at 77,569 on Friday, but still registered a weekly loss of 0.25 per cent.

---

Indian equities witnessed a volatile week, with early optimism giving way to a sharp bout of risk aversion due to geopolitical tensions.

Investor sentiment weakened after fresh military strikes and concerns over the progress of the US-Iran peace negotiations triggered a risk-off mood across global markets.

“However, the sell-off proved to be short-lived, as investor sentiment improved markedly following encouraging Q1 FY27 business updates from the banking and IT sectors, which provided a constructive backdrop for the upcoming earnings season,” an analyst said.

Indian equities gradually recovered in the latter half of the week as crude oil prices declined from nearly USD 76 per barrel to the USD 71-72 range, global technology stocks rebounded, and optimism surrounding ongoing diplomatic discussions improved overall market sentiment.

Sustained earnings outperformance in Q1 FY27 is likely to reinforce confidence in the FY27 corporate earnings outlook, which could help revive FII inflows, analysts said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers through most of the trading sessions, ending the week with net inflows of approximately Rs. 4,670 crore.

On the sectoral front, real estate, consumer durables and IT outperformed, while media, FMCG and chemicals lagged. Mid- and small-cap segments outperformed the broader market, supported by gains in real estate, consumer durables and metal stocks.

The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap100 gaining 1.36 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap100 rising 1.26 per cent during the week.

Immediate resistance for the Nifty is seen at 24,300, while 24,100 is expected to provide immediate support, followed by the 24,000 level.

For Bank Nifty, immediate support is placed in the 57,800-57,700 zone, while resistance is seen in the 58,200-58,300 zone.

Investors remain focused on Q1 FY27 earnings, domestic inflation data, US core inflation figures and comments from US Federal Reserve officials.

“Despite the hawkish tone of the recent FOMC meeting, easing inflationary pressures and slowing growth across the US, the EU and China have strengthened expectations of a more accommodative monetary policy stance,” a market participant said.