Markets snap 3-day rally: Sensex slips 276 pts, Nifty below 25,400; Adani stocks shine

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Friday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as mixed global cues and profit-booking in heavyweights such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Eternal and Bharati Airtel offset gains in Adani Ports and Maruti Suzuki.

At 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex slipped 119.49 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 82,894.47 after dropping as much as 276 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty50 declined 28.85 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 25,394.75, having touched a day’s low of 25,358.60. 

Among Sensex stocks, M&M led losers, declining 1.20 per cent to Rs 3,597.45.  Eternal shares were down 0.93 per cent. Other losers included Bharti Airtel (down 0.72 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 0.64 per cent) and TCS (down 0.62 per cent).

Adani Group stocks were in the green on Friday after SEBI said allegations of fund routing through Adicorp, Milestone and Rehvar to manipulate Adani’s listed companies did not stand scrutiny. Shares of Adani Power, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports & SEZ advanced 7.81 per cent, 5 per cent and 2.43 per cent, respectively, in early trade.

In overnight trade, Wall Street ended higher. The S&P 500 climbed 0.48 per cent to 6,631.96, while the Nasdaq rose 0.94 per cent to 22,470.72. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.27 per cent to close at 46,142.42.

Asian markets are trading mixed on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.77 per cent to 45,652.08, while South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.44 per cent to 3,446.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was nearly flat, edging down 0.01 per cent to 26,542.

On Thursday, the Sensex climbed 320.25 points, or 0.39 per cent, to finish at 83,013.96, while the Nifty50 advanced 93.35 points, or 0.37 per cent, to close at 25,423.60.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said the market is on an uptrend and is well positioned to set new records soon. "Fundamentals, technicals and sentiments are favourable for a steady uptrend," he said.

"Fundamentally, earnings are likely to improve from Q3 onwards. Technically, the market construct is favourable for an up move since there are shorts in the system and short covering is happening and can accelerate. From the market sentiment perspective, there are reports of a US- India trade deal without the penal tariff and lower reciprocal tariff from high government officials," Vijayakumar said.