Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks after a day’s halt again slipped into red terrain on Friday, led by sharp losses in Adani Group stocks, along with weakness in Eternal and IndiGo. Markets made a cautious start despite positive global cues. Soon indices extended their losses and remained under selling pressure throughout the session, as traders remained cautious amid continued selling by foreign institutional investors and mixed corporate earnings.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Persistent foreign fund outflows: Sentiments remained downbeat as Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold equities worth nearly Rs 2,549.80 crore on Thursday.

EU’s preferential export suspension to impact India’s shipment: Traders remained cautious as think tank GTRI stated that the European Union has suspended export benefits to sectors such as textiles under a preferential scheme for some countries, including India, from January 1, a move that is expected to impact the country's shipment to the 27-nation bloc, even as the two sides are finalising a trade agreement.

HSBC Flash India composite output index rises to 59.5 in January: Traders overlooked report that the HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, which measures the combined performance of India’s manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 59.5 in January from 57.8 in December.     

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green amid easing geopolitical and trade tensions between the United States and Europe. Asian equity markets ended mostly in green, after the Bank of Japan held rates on hold but signaled that it was likely to continue raising interest rates in 2026.

The BSE Sensex ended at 81537.70, down by 769.67 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 81471.82 and 82516.27. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.56%, while Small cap index down by 2.19%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities down by 3.52%, Realty down by 3.35%, Power down by 2.81%, Capital Goods down by 2.09% and Consumer Disc down by 1.78%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 0.71%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.67%, Infosys up by 0.35%, Asian Paints up by 0.33% and TCS up by 0.21%. On the flip side, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 6.95%, Eternal down by 5.82%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.01%, Axis Bank down by 3.12% and Power Grid Corp down by 2.08% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, highlighting various reforms including labour code reforms, simplification of the GST, reforms in the energy sector and opening up of nuclear energy to the private sector, Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that India’s reform momentum is firmly on track and as a result, India has emerged as a high-growth, resilient and globally trusted destination.

The Minister said that a continuous reform process is underway across all sectors of the economy, adding that investors are extremely encouraged by the policy environment in India and are increasingly expanding their commitments. He noted that companies across sectors are increasingly viewing the present period as an opportune time to invest in India. Vaishnaw further said that India is today the fastest-growing major economy in the world, with a consistent growth trajectory of 6-8 per cent projected over the next five years. He underlined that the combination of moderate inflation and high growth reflects the economic transformation achieved under the leadership of the Prime Minister over the past decade, which is drawing global attention.

Amid prevailing global uncertainties, the Minister expressed the need to strengthen internal capabilities to enhance resilience amid geopolitical, geoeconomic and geotechnical turbulence. He stated that the Government is focused on ensuring that all foundational building blocks of the economy are firmly in place to enable India to weather global disruptions.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25048.65, down by 241.25 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 25025.30 and 25347.95. There were 11 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.49%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.69%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.64%, Hindalco up by 0.62% and ONGC up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 10.76%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 7.02%, Eternal down by 5.74%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.17% and Cipla down by 4.04% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 37.39 points or 0.46% to 8,111.50 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 11.35 points or 0.11% to 10,138.70, while Germany’s DAX gained 15.53 points or 0.06% to 24,872.00.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight on relief over US President Donald Trump's U-turn on Greenland. Chinese Shanghai Composite rose after Xiaomi announced a stock buyback program worth up to HK$2.5 billion ($321 million). Seoul shares ended up, led by brokerage and technology shares. The Japan’s Nikkei gained while the yen lagged after the Bank of Japan held its policy rate steady at 0.75%, as widely expected, but signalled that it was likely to continue raising interest rates in 2026.