Nifty logs 7th straight weekly losses for the first time in 6 years: Time to be fearful, or can bulls pull off a comeback?

Indian equities have faced pressure this week, marking the Nifty 50's seventh consecutive weekly loss, a first in six years. Factors such as high crude prices, rising US Treasury yields, geopolitical concerns, and significant Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) outflows are keeping risk appetite low. The Nifty declined around 0.88% for the week, despite a late market rebound driven by easing oil prices and value investments.

Foreign investors are the primary reason for the outflows, with approximately Rs 18,531 crore exiting the market as of September 25, while domestic institutions absorbed the selling with purchases of around Rs 52,617 crore. Analysts believe that crude oil prices, US bond yields, geopolitical events, and FII flows will shape Indian equity markets in the upcoming week.

US economic data, Federal Reserve announcements, and domestic industrial data will be closely monitored for clues about interest rates and global liquidity. The high crude oil prices continue to impact inflation, corporate margins, and the domestic economic environment. Vinod Nair, Geojit Investments' Head of Research, states that heightened volatility due to the US-Iran conflict and US-China talks has kept inflation concerns alive, further weakening market sentiment.

Although oil prices fell by the end of the week, the volatile nature of crude oil prices maintains inflation worries, which have an overall negative impact on market sentiment.