Stock Market Weekly Wrap: Nifty Ends Higher, Sensex Near 76,913, Rupee Hits Record Low

The Indian equity markets finished the week largely higher, even after a sharp late slide. Sensex and Nifty both posted weekly gains, but Thursday, 30 April, saw heavy selling. Nifty slipped below 24,000, Nifty Bank lost over 2% for the week, and the rupee weakened to a record 95.33 against the US dollar during the session.

Thursday's trading session turned fragile despite a recovery from intraday lows. Sensex closed 583 points lower at 76,914, while Nifty fell 180 points to end at 23,998. Market breadth stayed negative, as the NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 1:2. Nifty Bank dropped 540 points to 54,863 and the Midcap index declined 592 points to 59,785.

Sensex, Nifty, Nifty Bank and rupee move in volatile markets

Through the week, benchmark indices managed to gain, supported mainly by select largecaps in IT and pharma. However, banking stocks struggled, dragging Nifty Bank more than 2% lower across the period. The rupee's fall to 95.33 against the US dollar on 30 April underlined broader risk aversion, even as headline indices closed the week in positive territory.

Sector performance showed a clear split between defensive pockets and rate-sensitive counters. On Thursday, Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma were the only sectoral indices finishing in the green. All other major indices, including financials and metals, closed lower. For the week, Nifty Pharma, Oil & Gas and IT led gains, while Nifty PSU Bank was the weakest segment, reflecting pressure on state-owned lenders.

Stock movers in Nifty, Sensex and Nifty Bank indices

Within the Sensex basket, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd, Coal India Ltd and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd turned out to be the major weekly winners. On the losing side, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Eternal Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd recorded the largest declines among the bluechips.

Among Nifty constituents, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Coal India and ONGC ranked as the top gainers over the week. Shriram Finance, Axis Bank, IndiGo, ICICI Bank and Eternal featured among the biggest weekly losers. On Thursday alone, 40 out of 50 Nifty stocks closed lower, with Tata Motors DVR, Eternal and Hindalco appearing among the sharpest decliners.

Stock-specific moves were driven by corporate news and earnings. Bajaj Auto advanced nearly 5% in Thursday's trade after stating it will consider a share buyback on 6 May. Hindustan Unilever slipped almost 3% that day. Syngene International jumped around 8% after announcing its fourth-quarter results, drawing interest from traders tracking earnings momentum.

Midcap market action beyond Nifty, Sensex and Nifty Bank

In the broader market, several midcap names outperformed on a weekly basis. Tata Chemicals, Bandhan Bank, Newgen Software and Oracle Financial Services Software figured among the most notable midcap gainers. Newgen Software rose more than 5% on Thursday after its fourth-quarter numbers, becoming the top midcap gainer in that session.

Weakness in PSU banks showed up clearly in midcaps as well. MRPL, Indian Bank, Bank of India and APL Apollo Tubes were among the prominent midcap losers through the week. These stocks also featured in Thursday's list of biggest decliners, alongside AU Small Finance Bank, underlining broad selling pressure in financial and related counters as the week ended.