Nifty 50, Sensex fall further as technology, financial sectors decline

The Nifty 50 and Sensex extended their losses on Friday, reversing earlier gains to hit their intraday lows reached at the start of the session, as information technology and financial sector stocks continued to decline. However, the fall was partially offset by gains in consumer and oil stocks.

The Nifty 50 slipped 184 points to end at 24,004. The Sensex also closed at 79,223, down 721 points. The indices, however, rose 1% each during the week, driven by strong performances in select sectors. The Midcap Index outperformed, gaining nearly 2%, while the Nifty Bank ended in the red, down 0.6%.

Indian markets took cues from the United States, where heavy-weights Tesla and Apple weighed on the indices, according to Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“In the near term, we expect markets to witness stock/sector specific action on the back of pre quarterly business updates released by companies, ahead of their Q3 results,” Khemka said.

On Friday, most major IT stocks, including Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys, saw declines amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the H-1B visa program ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Analysts also pointed out that the December quarter is typically weak due to fewer billing days and seasonal furloughs. Wipro and Tech Mahindra were both down more than 2%, while Infosys saw a more modest decline of 1%.

NALCO dropped 4% as alumina prices fell 5% on the day, marking a nearly 30% decline from recent peaks.

On the positive side, Tata Motors emerged as one of the strongest performers on the Nifty 50 and the Nifty Auto Index, rising for the fourth consecutive session. The stock ended 3.1% to ₹789. Similarly, shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose over 5%.

In other notable news, IRFC signed an MoU with RITES JV REMC to finance renewable energy projects, leading to a nearly 2% rise in its stock.