Indian Stock Market Weekly Round-Up: Bears Take Charge as Nifty Slides 2% In Week, Financials Lead Decline

Stock Market Closing on Friday

Nifty closed 0.4% lower at 23,773 points, whereas BSE Sensex was down 0.43% lower at 76,059.77 on Friday. Nifty 50 extended its losing streak for the fifth consecutive session on Friday. With this, Nifty ended the week with 2% loss, sharpest weekly decline in months. Financials emerged as the biggest laggards of the week.

While the overall stock market index remained under pressure, Bank Nifty emerged as the top gainer on Friday. The index closed in the green, with AU Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, IDFC First Bank, etc, emerging as the top gainers.
Broad Market Indices Remained Under Pressure

Broad market indices remained under pressure on Friday, with Nifty 100, Nifty 200, Nifty 500, Nifty Midcap 100, Nifty Small Cap 100, etc closing marginally lower on Friday. However, Nifty Midcap 50 emerged as the exception as the index was trading 0.16% higher minutes before the stock market closing today.

Crude Oil Price Volatility

Crude oil prices showcased massive volatility throughout the week as crude oil and West Asia tensions affected investors demand for the commodity. Brent crude which was hovering near $90 per barrel on Monday, breached the $100 per barrel mark by Friday as Houti attacks on Saudi Oil tanks intensified the tension. However, brent crude slipped below $ 98 per barrel in the second half of the day. Brent crude oil slipped below $ 98 per barrel on Friday but remained up more than 12% for the week, as per Trading economics data on Friday.

Indian Currency

The Indian Rupee also tracked the crude oil price movement. The Indian currency traded near record lows of around Rs 96.5 to Rs 96.6 per US Dollar by the week's end. Pressure on the Indian currency added to concerns over import costs for oil marketing and aviation companies.