Stock market traded marginally lower, PSU Banks worst hit

The Indian equity benchmark indices snapped a two-day winning streak to close lower on Friday as a drop in financials stocks after the country's central bank tightened consumer lending rules offset a rally triggered by easing U.S. interest rate outlook and drop in oil prices.After a negative start, the benchmarks erased the losses and turned positive in the initial hours but again took a beating in a volatile session amid a mixed sectoral trend. Banking stocks were under pressure after the central bank raised credit risk weights on unsecured consumer loans by increasing the capital requirements for banks and NBFCs for these loans to curb the proliferation of such borrowings.
At close, the Sensex was down 187.75 points, or 0.28 percent, at 65,794.73, and the Nifty was down 33.40 points, or 0.17 percent, at 19,731.80.For the week, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 gained 1.5 percent each.The Nifty Bank shed 1.3 percent, with IDFC First Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, Bandhan Bank, PNB down 2-3 percent each.
Stocks and Sectors
SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life, Apollo Hospitals, Larsen & Toubro and Hero MotoCorp were the top gainers on the Nifty,while losers included SBI, Axis Bank, ONGC, BPCL and Bajaj Finance.
On the sectoral front,auto, capital goods, FMCG, pharma and realty were up 0.5 percent each, while the PSU Bank index shed 2.5 percent and the oil & gas index 1.3 percent.Broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with BSE midcap and smallcap indices hitting new highs of 33,423.33 and 39,690.72.
On 17 Nov'23,the Indian rupee declined by 4 paise to close at 83.27 against the US dollar on Friday as a firm greenback in the overseas markets and losses in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment.
Fresh FII inflows and crude oil prices trading near four-month lows helped the rupee restrict losses, forex dealers said.
Experts Take:
Market experts have recommended six stocks to buy for Friday-HCL Tech, Escorts, Cyient, Finolex Industries, NTPC and Dabur India.

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