New Delhi: BSE Sensex witnessed a decline of over 100 points on Friday, driven by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks.
Bajaj Finance registered a decline of over 6 percent among the Sensex stocks, while Bajaj Finserv observed a decrease of over 2 percent.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra showed an increase of over 8 percent among the gainers. BSE Sensex was trading at 74,234 points, down by 105 points.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services downgraded Bajaj Finance stock to Neutral, citing near-term challenges in asset under management (AUM) growth. The company’s decision to scale back business in Rural B2C and slower AUM growth in the B2B business, coupled with other factors like NIM compression and difficulties in passing on interest rate hikes to customers, contributed to the downgrade.
V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, highlighted the market’s resilience, supported by significant DII buying of Rs 6,167 crores yesterday, which overshadowed sustained FII selling. With the US 10-year bond yield surpassing 4.7 percent, FIIs are expected to continue selling.
Data from the US indicates a weakening US economy, with Q1 GDP growth lower than expected at 1.6 percent. Despite this, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates in the next couple of meetings due to persistently high inflation, he added. Vijayakumar also emphasized the emerging interest in the pharmaceutical sector in recent days.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, noted that US stocks closed lower on Thursday following slower-than-expected US economic growth and persistent inflation. Additionally, disappointing forecasts from Facebook and Instagram owner Meta impacted the tech sector. However, major technology companies saw significant gains in late trading, driven by robust results from Microsoft Corp. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. Yet, Intel shares experienced an 8 percent drop in extended hours trading after forecasting second-quarter revenue and profit below market estimates.
