Sensex Today: Indian benchmarks — BSE Sensex and Nifty50 — started at fresh record highs on Friday, led by Infosys and HDFC Bank.
The BSE Sensex hit a record high of 81,587 in early deals, before paring gains to trade at 81,228, down 115 points or 0.15 per cent. The NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, hit a new lifetime high of 24,854, before quoting at 24,750, down 50 points. The indices were weighed by global selling.
Infosys share price moved 4 per cent higher after the company posted better-than-expected Q1FY25 results, and also raised FY25 revenue growth forecast to 3-4 per cent. HCL Tech, TCS, ITC, and Nestle India were the other top gainers.
On the downside, Power Grid, Ultratech Cement, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tech M, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, and Bharti Airtel were the top laggards, down up to 2.3 per cent.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index fell 0.7 per cent, and the BSE SmallCap index dipped 0.64 per cent.
Among sectors, the Nifty IT index advanced 1 per cent, followed by the Nifty FMCG index (up 0.09 per cent). The Nifty Metal, and Realty indices was the top losers, down over 1 per cent each, followed by the Nifty PSU Bank, Pharma, and Auto indices (down 0.6 per cent each).
Global Cues
In the US, markets closed lower with the Dow Jones leading the losses, down 1.29 per cent, followed by the S&P 500 (down 0.78 per cent) and Nasdaq (down 0.70 per cent). Meanwhile, US weekly jobless claims saw an increase amid seasonal fluctuations, highlighting ongoing volatility in the labour market.
Across Asia, most markets traded in the red. Australia’s ASX200 fell 1.05 per cent, Korea’s Kospi dropped over 1.05 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei, meanwhile, was off lows, and rose 0.11 per cent after the announcement of inflation figures, which met street expectations.
