IT, financials drag Sensex, Nifty; ITI & ADF Foods zoom 20%; Tata Motors up 5%

Domestic benchmark indices continued to fall and settled lower on Friday. However, the benchmark indices scripted a smart recovery in the second half to recover all the losses, but the fag end selling trading the market lower. Muted Q2 earnings and global cues are weighing on the market sentiments.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex declined 125.64 points, or 0.19 per cent, to end the session at 66,282.74. NSE's Nifty50 dropped 42.95 points, or 0.22 per cent, to end the day at 19,751.05. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers but BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled marginally lower. Fear gauge India VIX rose about a per cent to 10.70-mark.

It turned out to be a roller coaster ride for participants as the Nifty oscillated sharply on both sides and finally settled marginally lower. After the gap-down start, it drifted lower however recovery in the heavyweights pared majority of the losses as the day progressed, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking.

"The recent dip in IT majors combined with the underperformance of the banking pack is currently weighing on the sentiment. It is difficult to make any directional move without their participation. We thus reiterate our view to stay focused on stock selection and risk management," he added.

Among the sectors, the Nifty media and PSU bank indices dropped more than a per cent each. The Nifty metal, IT and financial services indices were the other key laggards for the day. Among the gainers, auto index added about a per cent each. The Nifty pharma, healthcare, realty and FCMG indices also posted decent gains.

In the Nifty50 pack, Tata Motors gained about 5 per cent, while HCL Technologies surged about 3 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Tata Consumer Products and Nestle India advanced more than 2 per cent each. Maruti Suzuki and Sun Pharmaceuticals were other key gainers for the day.

Among the losers, blue-chip counters including Axis Bank, Adani Enterprises, Infosys and State Bank of India dropped more than 2 per cent each. Wipro, Dr Reddys Laboratories, LTIMindTree, Bajaj Auto, Grasim and JSW Steel were the other key laggards in the index.

Weak revenue guidance of the IT sector and the current uptick in crude prices weighed on the sentiment. While higher-than-expected US inflation data pulled down the week's early uptrend, which was positive on the remark of a less hawkish US Fed meeting, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"However, some optimism was visible from domestic factors like a steep decline in domestic inflation and impressive industrial production data, along with bright earnings expectations for Q2," he said.

A total of 3,820 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 1,860 settled with cuts. 1,804 stocks ended the session with gains while 156 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 317 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 157 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Jai Corp, ITI and ADF Foods surged 20 per cent each, while SpiceJet gained more than 19 per cent. Texmaco Infrastructure and Holdings rallied 16 per cent, while AGI Greenpac was up 15 per cent for the day. Andhra Petrochemicals and Ircon International rose 10 per cent for the day.

Among the laggards, Quick Heal Technologies dropped more than 5 per cent, while CARE Ratings and Infibeam Avenue cracked on similar lines each. Orient Hotels, Bandhan Bank, Arihant Capital Markets, PTC Industries and Bombay Burmah Trading Company shed 4 per cent each for the day.

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