Mumbai: Stock market had quite the ride on Friday. The day started with nerves running high—thanks to the Bihar Assembly election results trickling in—but things calmed down once it was clear the NDA secured a strong majority.
Early on, the Sensex dropped more than 400 points right out of the gate. Then, momentum shifted, and stocks clawed their way back. By the closing bell, the Sensex stood at 84,562.78, up 84 points. The Nifty finished at 25,910.05, up nearly 31 points.
Honestly, you could call it a roller-coaster day. The Nifty shot up in the morning, even flirting with the 26,000 mark, but couldn’t quite stick the landing and slipped when sellers pushed back. Ashika Institutional Equities summed it up—traders were on edge, watching every update from Bihar, and it showed in the wild swings. Volatility stuck around, just as you’d expect when politics and markets collide.
Not every sector moved in lockstep. IT and auto stocks took a hit, with Nifty IT down 1.03 percent and Nifty Auto off by 0.52 percent. But FMCG, banking, and financial services picked up the slack and helped markets rebound late in the day. Nifty FMCG climbed 0.57 percent, Nifty Bank added 0.23 percent, and Nifty Financial Services gained 0.35 percent.
The standouts?
Tata Motors, Axis Bank, BEL, SBI, Sun Pharma, Trent, and Hindustan Unilever all put in a strong showing. On the flip side, Infosys, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, and Tech Mahindra ended in the red.
Looking at the wider market, the mood stayed mixed. Nifty Midcap 100 barely budged, while Nifty Small Cap 100 managed a 0.38 percent bump.
As for the rupee, it didn’t do much—hovering near 88.70 against the dollar. With no big U.S. data out, the currency just tracked the flow of funds. Analysts pointed out one thing to watch: if crude prices keep rising and WTI stays above USD 60, the rupee could come under more pressure.
