By Kashish Tandon
(Reuters) -India’s stock benchmarks fell on Friday, as investors were cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium, but expectations of tax reforms helped the indexes log weekly gains.
The Nifty 50 ended 0.85% lower at 24,870.10 points on the day, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.85% to 81,306.85.
For the week, both indexes rose 1%, fuelled by gains in autos and consumer stocks on hopes of a demand boost from revisions in the goods and services tax (GST) and S&P’s recent sovereign rating upgrade.
Auto and consumer durables led sectoral advances for the week, rising 5% and 4%, respectively.
Thirteen of the 16 major sectors fell on Friday, with heavyweight financials declining 1%.
“Largely global cues remain negative, which is pressuring the markets, with some profit booking also taking place after the six-session rally,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Shares of IT companies, which get a significant chunk of their revenue from the U.S., fell 0.8%, also weighing on the benchmark indexes on Friday.
However, IT stocks posted their best weekly gain in over two months, rising 2%.
Broader smallcaps and midcaps were muted on the day. They gained about 2% during the week.
Investors are awaiting Powell’s comments later on Friday for clues on the likelihood of a September rate cut. While markets had fully priced in a 25-basis-point cut next month, expectations eased after the release of minutes from the Fed’s July meeting.
Investors are also monitoring upcoming U.S. tariffs on Indian goods, effective August 27, and lingering uncertainty over Russia–Ukraine peace talks.
Among individual stocks, Vodafone Idea jumped 8% on reports that the government may reduce its telecom dues.
Apollo Micro Systems surged 15% after securing an order from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other public sector firms.
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Sumana Nandy and Janane Venkatraman)
