Indian Stock Market Report – Friday 13 Sep Recap

Indian markets ended Friday’s session slightly lower as investors booked profits following Thursday’s record highs. Both key indices, Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex, touched their all-time highs during the session but struggled to hold those levels due to profit-booking and sectoral weakness.

Key Indices Performance:

• Nifty 50: Closed at 25,356 points, down by 0.13%. Despite this, 20 out of 50 stocks finished in positive territory. The index recorded a weekly gain of 2.03%, marking its best performance since late June.
• S&P BSE Sensex: Slipped 0.09%, closing at 82,890 points. Over the week, the Sensex rose by 2.10%, driven by strong buying interest across sectors.

Sectoral Overview:

• Gainers:

  • Nifty Realty: Up 1.75%, leading the sectoral indices.
  • Nifty Media: Gained 1.74%.
  • Nifty PSU Bank: Rose by 1.25%.
  • Nifty IT: Advanced by 1%, reaching a fresh all-time high. Wipro led the index with a 3.9% rise, closing at ₹550 per share. Other IT stocks such as MphasiS, Coforge, L&T Technology Services, and Persistent Systems gained between 1% and 2%.

  Notably, five IT stocks – MphasiS, Coforge, Persistent Systems, HCL Technologies, and LTIMindtree – reached new 52-week highs. The Nifty IT index recorded a year-to-date gain of 22.19%, outperforming the Nifty 50’s 16.68% rise.

• Decliners:

  • Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Energy fell by over 0.6%, weighing on market sentiment.

Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Performance:

• Nifty Midcap 100: Continued its positive run, rising 0.66% to close at 60,189 points – the first time it crossed the 60,000 mark. IDBI Bank led the mid-cap index with a 7.9% increase. Oracle Financial Services Software and Bandhan Bank also saw strong gains.

  • Nifty Smallcap 100: Increased by 0.78%, closing at 19,505 points. In total, 69 of its constituents ended in positive territory.

Jewellery Stocks Rally:

Jewellery stocks saw sharp gains as global gold prices surged to new highs. Stocks like Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ), Kalyan Jewellers, Senco Gold, Motisons Jewellers, PC Jeweller, and Thangamayil Jewellery rose between 4% and 20%. The sector was buoyed by several factors:

• Rising gold prices: Unhedged gold inventories benefited from inventory gains.
• Favourable macro conditions: A cut in customs duties and robust wedding demand have created a positive outlook for jewellery sales, with further support expected from the upcoming festive season.

Market Sentiment:

Despite domestic CPI inflation being within the RBI’s target band, rising food prices could prompt the central bank to maintain a cautious stance on interest rates. However, increased liquidity from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and a drop in US 10-year yields are boosting market sentiment, with expectations of a possible Federal Reserve rate cut further aiding the positive outlook for domestic equities.