Market Wrap: Sensex and Nifty end flat as profit-taking caps D-St rally near record highs

Indian stocks ended flat with a negative bias on Friday, with the Sensex and the Nifty swinging between red and green as investors locked in gains near record territory and weighed expectations of potential interest-rate cuts in both the U.S. and India alongside incoming domestic growth signals.

The S&P BSE Sensex edged down 13.7 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 85,706.67, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped 12.6 points, or 0.05%, to 26,202.95. Both benchmarks hovered in a narrow range through the day after scaling fresh record highs in the previous session.

On the 30-stock Sensex, shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India and Hindustan Unilever paced the advances, each rising between 1% and 2%. Power Grid, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Infosys weighed on the index, declining in a range of 0.4% to 1.4%.

The Sensex and Nifty touched all-time highs on Thursday, marking fresh peaks for the first time in roughly 14 months. For November, the benchmarks each posted gains of about 2%.

In the broader market, small-cap shares retreated 3% over the month, while mid-caps bucked the trend, finishing November up about 2%.

Expert views

Indian equities stayed resilient, even as selective profit booking emerged in the broader market after the recent upswing, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that the sentiment was buoyed by progress in India–U.S. trade discussions, while strong performance in large-cap sectors, Auto, Financials, and Pharma helped maintain positive momentum. “Supportive global cues, including a continued tech-driven rally and rising expectations of a Fed rate cut, further strengthened investor confidence. With Q2 GDP and IIP data due shortly, the overall outlook remains constructive, and the prints are expected to affirm an improving macro trend,” said Nair.

Global Markets

Asian markets steadied on Friday as renewed hopes of an imminent U.S. rate cut helped ease valuation concerns and extend a rally in Treasuries for a fourth consecutive month. With U.S. markets closed for Thanksgiving and set for a shortened session, trading volumes were subdued across asset classes. European stocks mostly edged higher, while currency moves remained muted.

European stock futures ticked up 0.1% in Asia and FTSE futures added 0.2%. Wall Street futures were constrained by a data outage at CME Group that disrupted trading in currency, commodity and Treasury-linked contracts.

MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index slipped 0.3% on the day but was still up 2.7% for the week, its first weekly gain in four, though it remains down 3% for the month. Japan’s Nikkei was little changed and on track for a 3.2% weekly gain, despite a 4.3% decline in November.

South Korean stocks fell 1.5% after the central bank held rates steady and signaled an end to easing, though the index is still up 1.9% for the week.

Spot gold climbed 0.6% to $4,182 an ounce, lifting its monthly gain to 4.5%, though prices remain below the record high of $4,381.

Crude impact

Brent crude edged higher on Friday, supported by lingering geopolitical tensions as Russia-Ukraine negotiations dragged on, with investors also focused on Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting for signals on possible output adjustments.

The front-month January Brent contract, set to expire later in the session, rose 15 cents, or 0.24%, to $63.58 a barrel at 7:38 a.m. GMT, following a 21-cent gain on Thursday. The more actively traded February contract was up an equal 15 cents at $62.99.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee weakened slightly on Friday, slipping 7 paise to a provisional close of 89.43 against the U.S. dollar, as a firmer greenback and higher crude prices weighed on the currency.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major peers, rose 0.18% to 99.69.

(with inputs from agencies)