NEW DELHI: Falling for the first time in five sessions, domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty took a breather on Friday amid mixed global cues, as investors paused for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the annual global central bank conference in Jackson Hole later in the day.
Profit-booking at record levels amid prevailing weakness in the rupee against the US dollar kept the risk appetite of investors subdued.
The talk between the US and China, that gave hope to investors all over the world, concluded without any major breakthrough. Both major economies slapped fresh tariffs on one another on Thursday, intensifying the trade tussle.
The equity barometer Sensex fell by 84.96 points, or 0.22 per cent, ending the day at 38,251.80. The NSE counterpart Nifty50 finished day's trade at 11,557.10, with a loss of 25.65 points or 0.22 per cent.
For the week, however, both Sensex and Nifty rose by 0.80 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively.
We walk you through the key highlights of the days session:
Bank, auto among top drag on Sensex
ICICI Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki were the top drags on the Sensex. However, metal and mining counters, such as Vedanta, Tata Steel and Coal India helped Sensex pare losses. Vedanta, ONGC, Axis Bank, Wipro and Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the top five gainers. YES Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports and IndusInd Bank stood as biggest Sensex losers.
Rupee recovers
The rupee recovered slightly after dollar slipped ahead of Fed chairman's speech at Jackson Hole. At the time of writing this report, the rupee was trading at 69.97, up by 0.15 paise.
NCLAT says no to Tata Sons' conversion into a private company
PTI reported that the NCLAT today asked Tata Sons not to force Cyrus Mistry to sell his shares in the company till his appeal is pending. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) said that pending the litigation here, the Cyrus Mistry camp which was seeking a status quo over it cannot be "forced to sell shares".
Colgate-Palmolive falls on group arm's India entry
Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (India) came under pressure on Friday as global asset management firm CLSA said the entry of Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific into the Indian market will not augur well for the Indian subsidiary. CLSA expressed concerns that Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacifics foray into the Indian market by acquiring a stake in Bombay Shaving Company will hit prospects of the shareholders in future.
Global stocks cautious ahead of Powell's speech
Most major markets reflected cautious sentiment today ahead of the speech by the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later today at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that may hint on the direction of monetary policy. The dollar index slipped slightly and stocks remained subdued.
Metals shine
After Thursday's drubbings, most metal stocks rebounded on Friday in an otherwise weak market. JSW Steel (up 4.45 per cent), Vedanta (4.26 per cent) and Nalco (2.49 per cent) logged healthy gains.
MACDs bearish signal on YES Bank, ITC
Momentum indicator moving average convergence divergence, or MACD, signalled bearish crossovers for 58 stocks, including YES Bank, Hexaware Technologies, ITC, Sun TV Network, Usha Martin and Ultratech Cement on NSE, giving a sell signal. However, Vedanta, Petronet LNG, Asian Granito, Godrej Industries and Triveni Turbine featured among 28 stocks that saw upward crossovers on NSE, meaning the possibility of more upside on these counters.
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