1. Indian markets ended flat on Friday. Traders were cautious ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later today, which could provide cues on potential U.S. rate cuts. Nifty 50 index inched up by 0.05% to close at 24,823, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.04%, ending at 81,086.
2. Despite today’s muted performance, both indices have gained approximately 3% over the past seven sessions, driven by rising expectations of a U.S. rate cut and continued strong domestic inflows.
3. Gainers and losers:
Among Nifty50 stocks, Bajaj Auto was the top gainer, rising nearly 5%, followed by Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, and Sun Pharma, which also closed higher. In contrast, LTIMindtree, Wipro, ONGC, Asian Paints, and Titan ended with losses.
The U.S. rate-sensitive IT index fell 1%, recording the smallest gains for the week.
4. Stocks in news:
Bajaj Auto shares rallied after global brokerage firm J.P. Morgan named it one of its top two picks in the sector, alongside TVS Motor.
Reliance Group companies — Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Power — lost 5%-10% after Chairman Anil Ambani and 24 others were banned from the securities markets for five years due to diversion of funds.
5. Global shares traded mixed ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech that might deliver clues on how quickly and deeply the Fed may cut interest rates. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, while South Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped nearly 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2%.
