Benchmark Indices Dip, PSU Stocks Ride After JP Morgan’s Declaration

On the last trading day after the weekly expiry on Thursday Benchmark Indices Nifty and Sensex saw no rebound after a positive opening on Friday.

Nifty 50 dipped at 19,674 points, while S&P BSE Sensex fell at 66,009 points. Both the indices down about 2.5 per cent so far this week, on track for the worst week in seven months.

Public Sector Units (PSU) Banks rallied and topped the indices after a 3.5 per cent gain on the last trading day this week. PSU bank index is up over 16 per cent so far this month.

PNB Gilts hit the upper circuit of 20 per cent after the robust start in pre-market.

JP Morgan's declaration that Indian government bonds will be included in its widely tracked emerging market debt index fuelled the banks' indices.

Mid-caps and small-caps indices were mostly flat on Friday. Rising the US dollar and spiking US bond yields also pressured sentiment.

Pharmaceuticals stocks remain bearish as Glenmark pharmaceuticals fell nearly 3 per cent after the company announced divesting its 75 per cent stake in the life sciences unit to Nirma. 

Healthcare and Consumer durables led the falls. Dr Reddy and Zydus Life were among the top losers in Nifty Pharma.

ICICI Bank dropped 0.6 per cent after the lender declared to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in Quantum CorpHealth Private by the end of October 2023.

JSW Steel rose 0.2 per cent after the company slowed down the process of buying a stake in the steelmaking coal unit of Canada's Teck Resources. SJVN also rallied 1.26 per cent after the Government announced to selling its stake through offer-for-sale (OFS).