Benchmark indices declined on Friday as rising consumer price index (CPI) inflation and contracting industrial output spooked market participants. The BSE benchmark Sensex posted its biggest weekly fall in nearly a month.
As per provisional data on BSE, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) snapped their buying spree on Friday and sold shares worth $69 million. In the last 10 sessions, overseas investors have been net buyers of equities worth $1.4 billion. Year-to-date, FIIs have pumped in $18.8 billion.
On Friday, the 30-share Sensex slipped 1% to end at 20,715, while the Nifty dropped 1.1% to 6,168. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted 1.8% for October while retail inflation for November rose to a nine-month high of 11.24%.
The market fall was led by ICICI Bank (-4.12%) amid concerns of another impending rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as part of its December 18 policy meet. Power equipment manufacturer BHEL and two-wheelers maker Hero Motocorp saw scrips decline 4.06% and 2.98%, respectively.
About 24 of the 30 Sensex stocks declined on Friday. Market breadth remained weak with 1,588 declines against 865 advances. Most of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE ended in the red, with the BSE Bankex losing 2.25%, the BSE Realty Index slipping 2.10% and the BSE Capital Goods Index dropping 1.86%.
