India's equity markets closed lower on Friday, weighed down by declines in Real Estate, Auto and Banking stocks that pushed both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex into negative territory.
At the National Stock Exchange close, the Nifty 50 fell 2.09%. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex 30 lost 2.25%.
Top movers on the Nifty 50
- Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (NSE:ONGC) was the best-performing stock on the Nifty 50, rising 4.26% or 11.50 points to end at 281.70.
- Wipro Ltd (NSE:WIPR) climbed 1.22% or 2.30 points to close at 191.35.
- Bharti Airtel Ltd. (NSE:BRTI) gained 0.82% or 15.10 points to finish at 1,850.00.
Largest decliners on the Nifty 50
- Shriram Finance Ltd. (NSE:SHMF) declined 5.54% or 53.00 points to trade at 903.00 at the close.
- Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (NSE:TAMO) dropped 4.89% or 15.55 points to end at 302.40.
- Reliance Industries Ltd (NSE:RELI) fell 4.61% or 65.10 points to 1,348.00.
Top and bottom on the BSE Sensex 30
- Bharti Airtel Ltd (BO:BRTI) rose 0.64% to 1,847.15.
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (BO:TCS) was up 0.45% to settle at 2,388.90.
- Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (BO:PGRD) gained 0.24% to close at 295.80.
- Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (BO:TAMO) was the weakest on the Sensex, down 4.90% to 302.50 in late trade.
- Reliance Industries Ltd (BO:RELI) lost 4.58% to settle at 1,347.90.
- Bajaj Finance Ltd (BO:BJFN) fell 4.02% to 847.00 at the close.
Market breadth was heavily negative. On the National Stock Exchange, falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 2,264 to 314, with 22 issues unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 3,328 stocks declined while 775 advanced and 126 ended unchanged.
Shares of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd recorded 52-week lows in both listings: on the NSE the stock lost 4.89% or 15.55 to 302.40, and on the BSE it lost 4.90% or 15.60 to 302.50.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The India VIX, which measures the implied volatility of Nifty 50 options, rose 8.71% to 26.78, reaching a new three-year high.
Precious metals and energy contracts moved higher. Gold Futures for June delivery was up 1.07% or 47.05 to $4,456.05 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.98% or 1.87 to hit $96.35 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 1.61% or 1.64 to trade at $103.53 a barrel.
On the currency front, USD/INR was up 0.40% at 94.64, and EUR/INR also rose 0.40% to 109.12. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 99.79.
The session closed with a clear tilt toward selling across multiple sectors, and with implied volatility at multi-year highs. Investors and market participants will be watching breadth, commodity prices and currency moves for cues on near-term direction.