Friday turns out to be lackluster day for Indian markets

Friday turned out to be lackluster day for the Indian equity markets, with both Sensex and Nifty ending lower, as uncertainty prevailed over a possible agreement between the United Sates and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and investors awaited U.S. jobs data that could prove pivotal for next month's interest-rate decision by the Federal Reserve. Although both benchmark indices ended in the red, the Sensex witnessed steeper losses than the Nifty.

The decline in the Sensex was largely driven by its higher exposure to banking and financial stocks. Concerns over the Reserve Bank of India's draft norms on revolving credit products triggered sharp declines in NBFCs, with Bajaj Finance emerging among the biggest losers. Private sector lenders such as ICICI Bank and Axis Bank also traded weak, dragging the benchmark lower.

Throughout the session, the Nifty traded in a relatively narrow range with a negative bias as investors refrained from taking aggressive positions before key global economic data releases. Selling pressure was concentrated in banks and financial services stocks, while buying interest emerged in information technology and auto counters, prevented a sharper decline in the index.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India should simplify land acquisition process for industries to attract more investment: In order to attract more investments, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri has said that India needs to ease the process of land acquisition for setting up industries.

Govt's capital expenditure push encourages private sector investment: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the government's sustained capital expenditure push over the years has encouraged private sector investment, with companies now taking on greater risks to capitalise on India's growth momentum.

India makes no commitment on US ethanol imports for fuel blending under trade talks: The commerce and industry ministry has clarified that no concessions or commitments have been made regarding the import of ethanol from the United States (US) for fuel blending as part of the ongoing India-US trade negotiations.

Cabinet clears national circular bioenergy scheme with Rs 23,731 crore outlay: In a significant policy boost for India's renewable energy sector, the Union Cabinet has approved the Rs 23,731 crore National Circular Bioenergy Scheme ‘GOBARdhan’.

Mixed global cues: European stocks were trading higher, while Asian markets ended mixed on Friday as investors monitored oil price movements and awaited the U.S. jobs report later in the day for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

Finally, the BSE Sensex declined 455.59 points or 0.58% to 78,499.17 and the CNX Nifty was down by 65.35 points or 0.27% to 24,570.65.     

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 78757.40 and 78377.07, respectively. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.33%, IT up by 1.16%, TECK up by 0.75%, Healthcare up by 0.50% and Telecom up by 0.40%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.90%, Oil & Gas down by 0.63%, Bankex down by 0.61%, Realty down by 0.44% and Energy down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 3.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.53%, State Bank of India up by 1.03%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.91% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 5.90%, Bajaj Finserv down by 4.18%, ICICI Bank down by 3.72%, Trent down by 3.54% and Axis Bank down by 1.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, despite higher input cost, Crisil Ratings has said that primary steel makers are likely to maintain operating profitability of Rs 10,500-11,000 per tonne in the current fiscal (FY27), supported by higher global steel prices and effect of the safeguard duty imposed last year. Favourable pricing, coupled with healthy demand growth, is expected to strengthen cash accruals and support capex requirements while sustaining stable credit profiles.

Amid higher coking coal prices and elevated logistics and energy costs, the cost of production for primary steel producers - producers of steel predominantly through BF-BOF (blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace) route is estimated to increase by around Rs 2,000 per tonne this fiscal, to Rs 53,000 - 54,000 per tonne. Crisil added that coking coal, which accounts for nearly 40% of production costs, is expected to become 5-7% costlier amid potential supply disruptions in key exporting regions and sustained demand from major steel producing countries. Besides, higher freight, shipping and insurance costs, along with elevated power and fuel expenses, will further add to cost pressures.

However, the rising cost pressures are expected to offset by higher steel prices, continued protection under the 11.5% safeguard duty and healthy domestic demand growth, keeping profitability steady. Crisil expects domestic steel prices to increase by 6-8% in this fiscal. It added that domestic steel demand is expected to remain healthy, growing 5-7% this fiscal on the high base of fiscal 2026, supported by sustained investments in infrastructure and robust demand from the automotive, engineering and construction sectors.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24630.40 and 24522.75, respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 3.36%, Grasim Industries up by 3.20%, Hindalco Industries up by 3.17%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.82% and HCL Technologies up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 5.84%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.70%, Trent down by 3.54%, ICICI Bank down by 2.50% and JIO Financial Services down by 2.39% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 82.19 points or 0.76% to 10,950.08, France’s CAC rose 38.49 points or 0.44% to 8,738.20 and Germany’s DAX gained 240.27 points or 0.92% to 26,380.40.

Asian markets ended mixed on Friday as investors awaited the crucial US non-farm payrolls report to be released later in the day that could prove pivotal for next month's interest-rate decision by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, uncertainty over a possible agreement between the United States and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz also kept markets cautious. Chinese shares gained after customs data showed that China's exports in July grew 23.9% ‌from a year earlier in US dollar value terms, slowing from ?a 27% surge in the previous month, while imports rose 27.5%. Japanese shares declined due to declines in artificial intelligence and chip-related stocks.