Sensex and Nifty End Marginally Lower; Broader Market Outperform

Market breadth remained strong. On the NSE, out of 2,971 stocks traded, 1,969 advanced, 911 declined, and 91 remained unchanged.

Market Update at 4:00 PM: Indian stock markets closed slightly in the red on Friday, as investors chose to book profits following a strong rally in the previous session that had lifted key indices to seven-month highs. The Nifty 50 declined by 0.17 per cent to settle at 25,020, while the Sensex fell by 0.24 per cent, slipping below the 82,300 level. The Bank Nifty closed flat at 55,355. For the week, the Nifty still managed to post gains of 4.21 per cent.

Selling was seen in key sectors like IT and financials. After gaining over 7 per cent across four sessions, the Nifty IT index slipped by 0.84 per cent, indicating some cooling in sentiment around global recovery hopes. Financial stocks also remained under slight pressure, down by 0.03 per cent, after a sharp uptick earlier in the week.

In contrast, the broader market outperformed. Strong action in mid- and Small-Cap stocks—particularly defence-related counters and firms reporting positive earnings—boosted the Midcap and Smallcap 100 indices by 0.94 per cent and 1.86 per cent, respectively. Nine out of 17 sectoral indices closed in positive territory, with Nifty Realty emerging as the top gainer.

On the stock-specific front, Bharti Airtel fell 2.8 per cent after Singapore Telecommunications sold about 1.2 per cent of its stake at a discounted price, raising USD 1.54 billion. IndusInd Bank also declined in early trade amid governance-related concerns but recovered through the day to close almost flat, down just 0.04 per cent.

Among the Nifty 50 constituents, top contributors to gains included ITC (+7.24 pts), ICICI Bank (+6.34 pts), and Hindustan Unilever (+6.03 pts). Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel (-34.86 pts), Infosys (-22.93 pts), and SBI (-16.28 pts) were the major draggers.

Market breadth remained strong. On the NSE, out of 2,971 stocks traded, 1,969 advanced, 911 declined, and 91 remained unchanged. There were 57 new 52-week highs and 8 stocks that touched 52-week lows. Additionally, 175 stocks hit upper circuits, while 33 were locked in lower circuits

Market Update at 12:30 PM: India's key equity indices slipped slightly on Friday as heavyweight sectors like financials and IT witnessed profit booking following a strong upward run earlier in the week.

At 12:01 p.m. IST, the Nifty 50 was down 0.33 per cent at 24,980, while the BSE Sensex declined 0.32 per cent to 82,272. This pullback comes a day after both benchmarks touched seven-month highs, fuelled by optimism over a potential trade agreement between India and the U.S., as hinted by U.S. President Donald Trump. The market had also gained around 4 per cent over the previous four sessions, helped by easing geopolitical tensions after a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Among sectors, seven out of 13 ended in positive territory, but declines in the IT sector (down 0.7 per cent) and financials (down 0.3 per cent) kept overall gains in check. The IT index had climbed nearly 7 per cent over four sessions due to reduced concerns about a U.S. recession, following the U.S.-China trade truce, while financials rose about 4 per cent during the same period.

Broader market indices outperformed, with the small-cap and Mid-Cap indexes gaining 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively, supported by strong performance from defence stocks and post-earnings rallies in companies like Crompton Greaves Consumer.

On the downside, IndusInd Bank dropped 2.5 per cent after several brokerages downgraded the stock over governance issues linked to a USD 79 million misstatement in its microfinance division. Bharti Airtel also slid 3 per cent following a USD 1 billion stake sale by major shareholder Singapore Telecommunications.

Market Update at 10:20 AM: India’s key stock indices opened slightly lower on Friday, following a strong rally over the past few days driven by positive developments in U.S. trade talks.

As of 9:24 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 had slipped 0.23 per cent to 25,000.8, while the BSE Sensex declined 0.29 per cent to 82,281.95. Losses were seen in seven out of thirteen key sectors, with information technology and financial stocks retreating after notable gains earlier in the week.

On Thursday, both indices touched their highest levels in seven months. Over the past four sessions, the Nifty has advanced around 4.5 per cent, and the Sensex is up about 4 per cent.

The markets began climbing earlier this week, supported by a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, and gains accelerated on signs of progress in trade discussions with the United States.

Meanwhile, broader Asian markets were largely steady, as momentum from the recent U.S.-China trade truce showed signs of cooling.

Pre-Market Update at 8:00 AM: Indian markets are expected to begin on a positive note on Friday, May 16, 2025, with early indicators pointing toward a green start. At 07:16 am, Gift Nifty was trading near 25,174, up by 95 points from the previous close, reflecting optimistic sentiment among market participants. Asian markets opened mixed, while US markets also closed on a varied note the previous day.

India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to USD 26.42 billion in April from USD 21.54 billion in March. Exports registered a 9.03 per cent rise year-on-year to USD 38.49 billion, but imports outpaced this growth, rising 19.12 per cent to USD 64.91 billion. In the employment space, the unemployment rate for those aged 15 and above stood at 5.1 per cent in April. The rate was 5.2 per cent for males and 5 per cent for females, based on the Current Weekly Status methodology. The labour force participation rate was recorded at 55.6 per cent during the same period.

The markets are expected to witness stock-specific movement, especially with several companies set to announce their Q4 results today. Among the key earnings to watch are Bharat Heavy Electricals, Emami, Delhivery, CreditAccess Grameen, Kalpataru Projects International, and Jubilant Pharmova.

In terms of institutional activity, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on May 14, investing Rs 5,392.94 crore in Indian equities. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers, offloading Rs 1,668.47 crore worth of shares.

On Thursday, Indian equity benchmarks posted strong gains. The Nifty 50 ended the session at 25,062.10, up by 395.20 points or 1.60 per cent, crossing the significant 25,000 level. The Sensex surged by 1,200.18 points, or 1.48 per cent, to close at 82,530.74.

Asian equities showed mixed trends as regional investors reacted to Japan’s latest GDP data. Japan’s economy contracted more than expected in the January–March quarter. Annualised real GDP dropped 0.7 per cent, against forecasts of a 0.2 per cent fall, and on a quarterly basis, it declined 0.2 per cent compared to the expected 0.1 per cent.

On Wall Street, indices closed mixed as well. The Dow gained 0.65 per cent to close at 42,322.75, while the S&P 500 rose 0.41 per cent to 5,916.93. However, the Nasdaq slipped 0.18 per cent to end at 19,112.32. US retail sales showed a modest rise of 0.1 per cent in April, a slowdown from March’s revised 1.7 per cent increase. Weekly jobless claims held steady at 229,000 for the week ending May 10.

Crude oil prices remained largely flat amid investor focus on developments in US-China trade relations. Brent crude edged down by 0.02 per cent to USD 64.52 per barrel, while WTI crude inched up 0.06 per cent to USD 61.66 per barrel.

For today, CDSL, Hindustan Copper and Mannapuram Finance continue to remain under the F&O ban list.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.