MUMBAI — Indian benchmark indices ended lower on Friday, extending their losing streak to a fifth consecutive week, according to market reports.
The BSE Sensex closed at 74,781.76, down 120.83 points, or 0.16%, while the Nifty 50 ended at 23,398.10, lower by 79.70 points, or 0.34%. The Sensex had fallen more than 700 points during the session before recovering some of its losses.
Market analysts said elevated crude oil prices, rising global bond yields and continuing geopolitical uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment.
Brent crude was reported at $103.65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate stood at $98.85. Despite Friday’s decline, crude prices have risen sharply during the week amid concerns over supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict.
Both the Sensex and Nifty fell more than 2% during the week and are down about 4.8% over the past five weeks.
IT stocks showed some recovery, with the Nifty IT index gaining 0.36%. HDFC Bank was among the top Sensex gainers, rising 2.02%, while Tech Mahindra and HCLTech also advanced.
Tata Steel, Reliance Industries and Sun Pharma were among the major decliners.
India VIX, a measure of market volatility, rose 4.32% to 12.31.
Investors are now expected to watch upcoming US inflation data for signals on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook. Indian markets will remain closed on Monday for a local holiday.
