19.09.202505:14:13UTC+00India Stocks Slip, Still Poised for Third Weekly Gain

On Friday morning, the BSE Sensex declined by 390 points, or 0.5%, settling at 82,624. Concurrently, the Nifty 50 experienced a 0.4% drop, falling below the 25,350 mark. This downward movement followed three consecutive days of gains, spurred by optimism surrounding potential cuts in the Federal Reserve's interest rates. The market witnessed a wave of cautious profit-booking by investors after the broader index soared to a nine-week high the previous day. Market participants are also closely monitoring China's forthcoming interest rate decision, especially in light of earlier in the week’s lackluster economic data. An overall positive performance on Wall Street overnight helped temper the decline, as investors continued to factor in the likelihood of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this year. The technology and banking sectors bore the brunt of the downturn, with significant losses reported by key stocks such as ICICI Bank (-1.2%), Titan (-1.2%), Nestle India (-1.1%), and UltraTech Cement (-0.8%). For the week, the index remains poised for a 0.9% increase, extending its streak of weekly gains to three, buoyed by positive sentiments around US-India trade discussions and the anticipation of further rate reductions by the Fed.