Nifty, Sensex break 6-day record rally on banking sell-off

The domestic share market indices traded lower on Friday, breaking the positive momentum from last week's U.S. rate cut as IT stocks took center stage after Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.At close, the Sensex was down 264.27 points or 0.31 percent at 85,571.85, and the Nifty was down 37.10 points or 0.14 percent at 26,178.95. 
The market initially reached new record highs following a lackluster start, though it traded in a narrow range during the first half. By the second half, intensified selling pressure reversed gains, sending the benchmark indices lower.During the day, BSE Sensex and Nifty touched fresh highs of 85,978.25 and 26,277.35,respectively,and for the week, both indices rose 1 percent each.
BPCL, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Coal India, and Reliance Industries (RIL) were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Power Grid Corp, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank. A mixed trend was seen on the sectoral front,
with auto, metal, IT, pharma, and oil & gas up 0.3-2.5 percent, while realty, power, bank, media, FMCG, and telecom indices were down 0.3-1 percent.The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended on flat note.
Market This Week
●Market ends higher for 3rd straight week, frontline indices up over 1% each,
●Broader markets undeform Sensex & Nifty, Midcap Index & Nifty Bank see minor gains,
●All sectoral indices end with gains, metal index rise 7 percent, Nifty auto up 5 percent.
Rupee Close:
On 27 Sep'24,the Indian rupee declined four paise to settle at 83.70 against the U.S. dollar on Friday amid subdued domestic equity markets and increased month-end demand for the American currency.However, sliding crude prices in the international market and renewed foreign fund inflows supported the local unit and restricted the fall,forex dealers reportedly stated.
Trading Guide:
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services reportedly quoted as saying, following the recent impressive surge, the benchmark indices experienced a sideways movement today as investors engaged in profit booking at elevated levels. The Chinese market saw sharp gains amidst mixed Asian sentiments, given economic stimulus and attractive valuation. Metals stocks saw a resurgence, while the Pharma and IT sectors saw an uptick on account of weakness in INR. Meanwhile, investors are looking forward to the Q2 earnings report, anticipating improvement in earnings outlook.
Market experts have recommended six stocks to buy -Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Canara Bank, Ambuja Cements, Elecon Engineering, Apollo Tyres, and GAIL India.

(Writer is a Finance Research Analyst, based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat)