Markets decline in early trade after record rally

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices dropped during morning trading on Friday due to investors taking profits following a recent surge and selling of top stocks like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.                                                                        

79,545.40 saw a drop of 504.27 points in the 30-share BSE Sensex. The NSE Nifty fell by 105.30 points to reach 24,196.85.

HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top underperformers among the 30 Sensex companies. Sun Pharmaceuticals, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra were some of the companies that saw an increase in their stock values.

According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,575.85 crore in the capital markets on Thursday and ended up as net buyers.

"Large long positions in index derivatives by FIIs along with strong purchasing in the cash market could provide market support in the short term." A significant catalyst could be provided by the anticipated US employment figures on Friday. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, stated that if the employment figures indicate a more relaxed job market and a decelerating economy, this could prompt the Fed to reduce interest rates in September. Seoul's prices rose in Asian markets, while Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong saw declines in their trading.

Avdhut Bagkar, a Technical and Derivatives Analyst at StoxBox, mentioned that the Asia-Pacific markets traded down mainly because they lacked signals from US markets, as investors were eagerly anticipating the release of non-farm payroll data later on Friday.

The US markets were not open on Thursday in celebration of Independence Day. Brent crude, the worldwide oil benchmark, dropped by 0.37 percent to USD 87.11 per barrel. The BSE Sensex hit a peak of 80,392.64 in morning trading on Thursday. The Sensex ended the day 0.08% higher at 80,049.67, marking a gain of 62.87 points before closing.