Indian shares post longest weekly losing streak in six years on oil, rate worries

Indian shares posted a sixth straight weekly decline on Friday, their longest losing streak since 2020, as crude prices above $100 per barrel driven by Mideast tensions and tighter global monetary policy weighed.

On the day, the Nifty 50 rose 0.33% to 23,346.40, while the Sensex shed 0.03% to 74,294.96.

A drop in oil prices, bargain buying after recent losses outweighed declines in IT and Tata Group stocks as well as strong demand for domestic IPOs drained liquidity from the secondary market on Friday.

The $2.3 billion NSE IPO was fully subscribed on its second day of bidding.

“While markets gained during the session, the move appears to be driven largely by bargain buying after the recent oversold conditions, rather than signalling a meaningful reversal in sentiment,” said Saurabh Jain, deputy vice President of equities at SMC Global.

The Nifty and Sensex declined 0.22% and 0.65%, respectively, this week.

“Uncertainty over any near-term resolution to Middle East tensions continues to pressure domestic equities, particularly exposed to crude prices,” Jain said.

“Elevated global bond yields and persistently high U.S. interest rates are also diminishing the relative appeal of emerging markets such as India for foreign investors.”

Ten of the 16 major sectors logged weekly losses. The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell 0.15% and 0.01%, respectively.

Bucking the trend, insurers HDFC Life and SBI Life gained 4% and 2.8%, respectively, as investors responded positively to the sector’s growth outlook and enhanced transparency driven by financial-reporting transition.

Systematix Research expects the new accounting framework to offer a more granular view of underlying insurance profitability.

On the day, most Tata Group stocks fell, with TCS, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Investment, and Tata Chemicals falling 2.5% to 11.1% as investors reacted to heightened uncertainty over the potential listing and leadership of holding company Tata Sons, following a public dispute.