Sensex, Nifty Post First Consecutive Weekly Drop In Eight Months

Indian equities ended lower for the sixth straight session, ahead of the Union Budget on Monday, matching its longest losing streak since September last year.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.3% lower at 46,285. The index has corrected close to 4,000 points from its all-time high on January 21.

The NSE Nifty 50 index also fell 1.3% to end at 13,634. The index fell for the first time in all five sessions of the week since February last year. It has now declined over 1,000 points from its own all-time high. 43 out of the 50 index constituents ended with losses.

Both the benchmarks posted their second consecutive weekly loss. It is the first time that the Sensex and Nifty have declined for two straight weeks since May last year.

Banks outperformed for the second straight day on Friday. The Nifty Bank ended 0.7% higher at 30,565 while the PSU Bank index ended with gains of 1.7%. The Nifty Realty index was the only other sectoral gainer, ending 0.5% higher.

Selling pressure was seen in all other indices with the Nifty Auto and Nifty I.T. indices declining over 2.5% each. The Nifty Metal index fell 1.9% while the Nifty Pharma index fell 1.8% in today's session. The FMCG index too saw a drop of 1.5%.

Broader markets ended lower but the losses were modest as compared to the benchmark indices. The Midcap index ended 0.4% lower while the Smallcap index fell 0.6%.

India Volatility Index rose 4.3% to 25.34.

1,022 stocks on the NSE ended with losses while 858 stocks bucked the trend to close higher.