Sensex, Nifty fall even as easing oil prices, buying in HDFC Bank, IT stocks help pare losses

Stock indices Sensex and Nifty experienced a slight decline on Friday after crude oil prices dropped and private banking giant HDFC Bank saw late buying. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 120.83 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 74,781.76, while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 79.70 points, or 0.34 percent, to end at 23,398.10. Within the 30 Sensex stocks, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, and Axis Bank struggled.

In contrast, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, and Infosys were among the top gainers. The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, fell 3.19 percent to $104.2 per barrel. Despite the market's recovery from intraday lows, aided by value buying in sectors like IT following a positive start in European markets, weak market breadth suggests ongoing consolidation.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, noted that while high crude prices, foreign outflows, and geopolitical uncertainty could maintain volatility, domestic fundamentals and institutional support are helping limit downside risks and support the medium-term outlook. Among the BSE sectoral indices, Realty dropped 2.69 percent, while Metal fell 2.40 percent, Commodities declined 1.61 percent, Energy dropped 1 percent, Utilities fell 1 percent, and Auto decreased 0.88 percent.

Financial Services, Private Banks index, IT, Telecommunication, Bankex, and Focused IT were the positive performers. On a weekly basis, the BSE benchmark fell 1,733.67 points, or 2.26 percent, and the Nifty declined 499.6 points, or 2 percent.