Indian shares fell on Friday as traders parsed through key corporate earnings amidst concerns of a global economic slowdown, but held on to weekly gains on a rise in financial stocks.
The Nifty 50 index
NIFTY
closed 0.44% lower at 18,027.65, while the S&P BSE Sensex
SENSEX
fell 0.39% to 60,621.77.
"Hawkish comments from global central bank officials and macro economic data from the U.S. have exacerbated growth worries," said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Profitmart Securities, adding that the volatility in Indian markets was also due to "lacklustre" earnings in sectors other than financials.
The India volatility index
INDIAVIX
fell over the last two sessions, but has hovered around the 14 mark for over a month.
Thomson Reuters
Thirty six of the Nifty 50 constituents declined on Friday, with Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India and JSW Steel among the top losers.
Hindustan Unilever
HINDUNILVR
fell nearly 4% after the company said it would pay higher royalty fees to parent Unilever
ULVR
. Its net profit beat estimates in the third quarter, post market hours on Thursday.
The stock, which has the second-highest weightage among fast-moving consumer goods' firms, dragged the FMCG index
CNXFMCG
nearly 1%.
Financials
CNXFINANCE
closed 0.17% higher and capped losses in the market, ahead of key earnings from private lenders ICICI Bank
ICICIBANK
and Kotak Mahindra Bank
KOTAKBANK
due on Saturday.
The expectations of strong third-quarter performance from the private lenders buoyed financial stocks, three analysts said.
An uptick in oil prices (.LCOc1) also added to the losses as high oil prices imply pressure on import bill of oil-importing countries like India.
($1 = 81.4400 Indian rupees)
The Nifty 50 index
NIFTY
closed 0.44% lower at 18,027.65, while the S&P BSE Sensex
SENSEX
fell 0.39% to 60,621.77.
"Hawkish comments from global central bank officials and macro economic data from the U.S. have exacerbated growth worries," said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Profitmart Securities, adding that the volatility in Indian markets was also due to "lacklustre" earnings in sectors other than financials.
The India volatility index
INDIAVIX
fell over the last two sessions, but has hovered around the 14 mark for over a month.
Thomson Reuters
Thirty six of the Nifty 50 constituents declined on Friday, with Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India and JSW Steel among the top losers.
Hindustan Unilever
HINDUNILVR
fell nearly 4% after the company said it would pay higher royalty fees to parent Unilever
ULVR
. Its net profit beat estimates in the third quarter, post market hours on Thursday.
The stock, which has the second-highest weightage among fast-moving consumer goods' firms, dragged the FMCG index
CNXFMCG
nearly 1%.
Financials
CNXFINANCE
closed 0.17% higher and capped losses in the market, ahead of key earnings from private lenders ICICI Bank
ICICIBANK
and Kotak Mahindra Bank
KOTAKBANK
due on Saturday.
The expectations of strong third-quarter performance from the private lenders buoyed financial stocks, three analysts said.
An uptick in oil prices (.LCOc1) also added to the losses as high oil prices imply pressure on import bill of oil-importing countries like India.
($1 = 81.4400 Indian rupees)