India’s benchmark indexes logged a second consecutive weekly rise on Friday, led by auto stocks that gained on the back of upbeat monthly sales data.
However, financials and IT stocks dragged the blue-chip indexes lower on the day, with the Nifty 50 shedding 0.76% to 24,004.75 points and the BSE Sensex falling 0.9% to 79,223.11.
The indexes rose about 1% this week, mirroring last week’s move.
The benchmarks rose about 8.5% in 2024, the least among major global peers, as a moderation in corporate earnings and an exodus of foreign funds weighed.
Ten of the 13 major sectors advanced this week, with auto gaining about 4% to be the top sectoral gainer by percentage.
Royal Enfield motorcycle maker Eicher Motors jumped nearly 9% this week, while car maker Maruti Suzuki and peer Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 9.1% and 4.6%, respectively, helped by upbeat sales in December.
Upstream oil company ONGC rose 9.3%, tracking crude oil prices and leading the oil and gas index 3.4% higher.
IT and financials weigh on Indian benchmarks
The broader, more domestically focussed smallcaps and midcaps rose 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively, this week.
Indian companies’ earnings that kick off next week will be crucial going ahead, analysts said.
“Among all the big themes including U.S. policy and union budget, the earnings will be crucial in shaping the performance of domestic equities in the near term,” said Ankita Pathak, chief macro and global strategist at Ionic Wealth.
On the day, HDFC Bank, the heaviest stock in India’s benchmark indexes, fell 2.5% after CLSA removed the top private lender from its India focus portfolio and cut its stance on banks to “equalweight” from “overweight”.
The Nifty financial services index fell 1.1% while IT stocks dropped 1.4%.
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