D-Street ends in red for a third week on West Asia deal delay, oil spike

India's equity indices ended lower on Friday at the end of a lacklustre trading week, as continued geopolitical uncertainty and an upswing in crude oil prices weighed on Dalal Street.

NSE's Nifty fell 29.85 points, or 0.1%, to close at 24,366. BSE's Sensex declined 70.71 points, or 0.1%, to end at 78,009.25. The indices declined 0.8% and 0.6% for the week, respectively, after two straight weeks of losses.

"Benchmark indices remained subdued this week as the US-Iran deal, which was expected last weekend, was deferred again," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "Oil prices spiked after the delay, adding pressure on Indian equities."


Brent crude oil October futures were trading above $88 a barrel on Friday evening and remained elevated through the week, compared with their close of $83.5 a barrel last Friday.

Khemka said that with the results season underway, the action has been highly stock- and sector-specific, and that is likely to continue as he expects the major indices to remain range-bound.

The India Volatility Index, or VIX-a gauge of fear in the markets-fell 0.9% to 11.3 on Friday and has dropped 11.5% in the past five sessions, indicating some relief among traders.

Both the Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Small-cap 250 fell 0.5% on Friday. Of the total 4,502 stocks traded on Friday, 1,896 advanced and 2,393 declined at the close. The midcap index gained 0.2% for the week, while the Smallcap 250 fell 0.4%.

Technically, Nifty is hovering around the confluence zone of its 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), said Vipin Kumar, AVP - Derivatives and Technical Research at Globe Capital Market.

Kumar said Nifty's immediate support lies around the 24,130-24,000 spot levels, while resistance is at 24,620-24,700.

"A decisive breakout above 24,700 is essential to trigger a sustainable rally toward 24,850 and higher levels, while a breach below 24,000 (which appears less probable) could drag the index down to 23,800-23,600," he said. "Given the current chart structure and a lack of fresh triggers, we expect Nifty to remain range-bound within the 24,000-24,700 zone short term."

Khemka said overall earnings breadth has improved, with outperformance seen in the broader market. "While Nifty50 earnings growth has remained steady, the mid- and small-caps have delivered stronger growth and could remain better placed going ahead," he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan gained 0.6% and South Korea rose 2.4%, while China ended flat. Hong Kong fell 1.1%, while Taiwan dropped 0.5%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was flat at the time of going to print.

Foreign portfolio investors net bought shares worth ₹508 crore. Domestic institutions were buyers to the tune of ₹356 crore.