The Indian stock market remained little changed in Friday’s trading session as investors booked profits in consumer goods stocks, which had witnessed a stellar rally in recent sessions, while weakness in tech stocks persisted, offsetting gains in autos after GST rationalization.
The Nifty 50 ended the session at 24,741, up 0.03%, while the Sensex settled 7.25 points lower, or 0.01%, at 80,710. While the headline indices showed little movement, mid- and small-cap stocks managed to post marginal gains, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap indices rising 0.15% each.
Sector-wise, Nifty Auto emerged as the top gainer, rising 1.25% to close at 26,320. Other sectoral indices, including Nifty Metal and Nifty Media, also ended with gains of up to 0.70%.
On the flip side, Nifty IT was the worst performer, declining 1.44%, followed by Nifty FMCG and Nifty Realty, both slipping up to 1.42%. The GST rate cuts from daily essentials to autos and footwear did not trigger a major rally in the Indian stock market, as the announcement was largely in line with expectations and much of it had already been factored in.
Investor focus has now shifted to global developments, particularly the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting this month. A slowdown in US job openings has pushed traders to price in nearly 100% odds of a 25-basis point rate cut on September 17.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, including President Trump’s actions regarding the Fed, which have raised concerns about its independence, along with global trade risks, are driving investors towards safe-haven assets.
Additionally, Trump stated his administration would seek an expedited Supreme Court ruling to overturn a federal court decision declaring many of his tariff’s illegal.
Over 20 Nifty 500 stocks closed with gains up to 20%
Though the Indian stock market saw little overall change, several stocks rose sharply. Netweb Technologies led the pack, gaining 20% to ₹3,182 apiece, pushing its weekly gains to 40%, its biggest weekly rise since listing in July 2023.
The rally came after the company announced it had secured an order worth ₹1,734 crore for the supply of servers based on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture. The second top gainer was Brainbees Solutions, which jumped 13.5% to ₹399.9 on the back of heavy volumes.
Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation also gained 11.6% to ₹508 apiece. The company has been in focus recently, with the Centre planning a concerted push into rare earth mining to secure supplies, alongside its stated plans to foray into new mining ventures. Swiggy shares settled 4% higher at ₹439.8 apiece.
Vodafone Idea, SKF India, Godfrey Phillips India, RattanIndia Enterprises, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, BSE, and 13 other Nifty 500 constituents closed with gains ranging between 3% and 10%.
Ola, Varun Beverages lead losers’ pack
Ola Electric Mobility shares continued to see profit booking in another session, dragging the stock 6.7% lower to ₹60.2 apiece. On Thursday, in its regulatory filing, Japan’s SoftBank Group said it had sold 94.9 million shares, or a 2.15% stake in the company, through a series of transactions, reducing its holding to 15.68% from 17.83%. The company did not disclose the sale price.
Varun Beverages shares declined for the second straight session, losing 4.06% to ₹469 apiece. eClerx Services was also among the top laggards, with the stock slipping 3.34% to ₹4,290 apiece, while Firstsource Solutions fell 3.2% to ₹350 apiece.
Other stocks such as Persistent Systems, Abbott India, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Narayana Hrudayalaya, The New India Assurance Company, Prestige Estates Projects, and 15 other constituents of the Nifty 500 closed with losses between 2% and 3%.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
