The SENSEX Index Closes 0.39% Lower

India’s BSE Sensex closed about 0.4% down at 81,592.45 on Friday, halting a ten-day rally, on profit-booking and as rising crude oil prices and inflation concerns weighed on market sentiment. However, continued foreing inflows and solid corporate earnings provided some support. India’s inflation quickened to 6.09% in October from 5.54% in September, breaching the RBI’s 6% upper tolerance threshold for the first time since October 2024 and raising expectations of further tightening. Meanwhile, foreign investor inflows remained buoyant, reaching approximately $8 billion in November to date, their highest level for a month since December 2020. M&M (-2.1%) led losses, followed by UltraTech Cement (-1.7%), BEL (-1.6%), NTPC (-1.2%) and Trent (-1.1%). Banking and financials also remained under pressure. HDFC Bank fell 1.1%, while Bajaj Finserv lost 1%. Axis Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank also declined. Tech stocks continued to struggle. For the week, the index rose 0.7%.

The SENSEX Index decreased 319 points or 0.39 percent on Friday to close at 81592 points. The decline was led by Tata Motors (-3.08%), UltraTech Cement (-1.92%) and Indusind Bank (-1.81%). On the upside, the strongest performers were Bharti Airtel (1.12%), Nestle India (0.66%) and Asian Paints (0.45%).

India’s BSE Sensex edged down about 0.2% to 81,739 on Friday, snapping an eleven-session winning streak as rising crude oil prices and inflation concerns offset strong foreign fund inflows. Brent crude climbed to around $95.23 per barrel amid escalating attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation accelerated to 6.09% in October from 5.54% in September, breaching the RBI’s 6% upper tolerance threshold for the first time since October 2024. Global concerns over heavy data centre investments also weighed on AI stocks, adding to market uncertainty. Among stocks, Ola Electric fell 2.7% despite a narrower second-quarter loss, as revenue dropped 39%. Vodafone declined 2.1% after reporting a narrower quarterly loss on higher average revenue per user, while Meesho gained 0.7% amid reports of a potential 1% stake sale by a SoftBank affiliate through a block deal worth approximately 11.74 billion rupees.