The domestic equity indices ended a choppy session with moderate losses on Friday, driven by mixed market sentiment as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff plan. The rupee strengthened against the US dollar and gold hit an all-time high today. The Nifty settled below the 23,550 mark. Media, IT and realty shares declined while FMCG and private bank shares advanced.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 191.51 points or 0.25% to 77,414.92. The Nifty 50 index declined 72.60 points, or 0.31%, to 23,519.35.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.68%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.35%. The market breadth was negative.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 4.37% to 12.72.
Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty FMCG index (up 0.59%), the Nifty Private Bank index (up 0.15%) and the Nifty Oil & Gas index (down 0.03%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Media index (down 2.29%), the Nifty IT Index (down 1.76%) and the Nifty Realty index (down 1.42%) underperformed the Nifty 50 index.
For the financial year 2024-25, the S&P BSE Sensex has risen 5.11% while the Nifty 50 index has gained 5.34%. The S&P BSE MidCap Index and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index have added 5.62% and 8.04%, respectively.
The stock exchanges will be shut on Monday, 31 March, 2025 on the occasion of Eid.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.12% to 6.693 as compared with the previous close of 6.701.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.4900, compared with its close of 85.7450 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for the 4 April 2025 settlement rose 0.34% to Rs 88,683.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.16% to 104.43.
The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.80% to 4.334.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement lost 13 cents or 0.18% to $73.21 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Markets in Asia ended mostly in the red while their European counterparts mostly traded in the red on Friday. Investors remain cautious ahead of the scheduled implementation of tariffs on automakers from April 2 onwards.
U.S. President Donald Trump's move to impose a 25% tariff on auto imports, which would take effect next week, is drawing fierce criticism from politicians and industry executives across the globe. Global car makers have issued a warning that price hikes were likely on the way in the aftermath of the newly imposed tariffs.
The widening of the global trade war that Trump kicked off upon regaining the White House has jolted the markets, with shares of global automakers hit particularly hard.
In Europe, France’s harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other eurozone countries, rose by 0.9% in March, the same as in February, according to data from the statistics agency Insee. Service prices increased by 2.3%, compared to 2.2% in February. However, energy prices were 6.2% lower compared to a 5.8% decline the previous month.
The UK economy posted modest growth in the final quarter of 2024, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 0.1% between October and December, which was unchanged from previous estimates, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This follows a period of stagnation, with zero growth recorded in the third quarter. However, the ONS also reported a slight dip of 0.1% in GDP for January 2025.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand announced the immediate suspension of all trading activities following a strong earthquake in Myanmar.
Markets in the US recorded some selling on Thursday, with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration expanding the trade war to autos with its latest round of tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opening a new tab, fell 155.09 points, or 0.37%, to 42,299.70; the S&P 500 (.SPX), opening a new tab, fell 18.89 points, or 0.33%, to 5,693.31; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opening a new tab, fell 94.98 points, or 0.53%, to 17,804.03.