Market weekly check: Nifty IT jumps 3.5% as NIFTY50, SENSEX end flat; SMIDs lag, Wipro, HCL Tech lead gains

The equity benchmark indices ended the week on a flat note on Friday, December 5. The SENSEX inched up 5.7 points, while the NIFTY50 slipped 16.50 points, or 0.1%. The market sentiment remained cautious throughout the week on the Reserve Bank of India’s rate cut decision anticipation and a weaker domestic currency against the US dollar.

Led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Friday unanimously voted to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, with immediate effect.

Further, during the week the rupee had declined to a record low level of 90.43 against the US dollar amid persistent foreign fund outflows.

On the flip side, IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation (-9%), Max Healthcare (-5.6%), Hindustan Unilever (-5.2%), Eternal (-2.6%), and Titan Company (-2.4%) ended as the week’s biggest losers.

Shares of IndiGo came under pressure after the airline faced major disruptions in operations during the week. Air travel across India remained in chaos as the country's largest airline scrapped around 500 flights, including all departures from New Delhi, leaving thousands of passengers stranded for several hours.

The crisis was sparked after IndiGo failed to plan for new pilot flying-time regulations, leaving travellers missing everything from wedding receptions to job interviews and onwards international connections. This impacted the airline’s shares as well.

Sectoral watch this week

Among sectors, Nifty IT led the market with a strong 3.5% gain, followed by Nifty Auto up 1.7% and Nifty Metal rising 0.6%. Nifty Bank, however, ended the week flat.

Within the IT index, Mphasis (5.1%), Wipro (4.2%), Coforge (3.6%), HCL Technologies (3.6%), and Infosys (3.6%) emerged as the top weekly gainers.

On the downside, Nifty Consumer Durables (-3.2%), Nifty India Defence (-2.6%), and Nifty Media (-2.3%) were the major laggards.

How the broader market performed this week

The broader market underperformed during the week, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 0.7% and 1.8%, respectively.

On the Nifty Midcap 100, Hitachi Energy (-12.5%), Waaree Energies (-9.5%), Motilal Oswal Financial Services (-7.7%), Premier Energies (-7.7%) and Indian Bank (-7%) were the main laggards.

On the flip side, Vodafone Idea (8.4%), NALCO (5.1%) and Mphasis (5.1%) were the top gainers.

On the Nifty Smallcap 100, Kaynes Technology India (-20.7%), Ola Electric Mobility (-13.9%), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (-11.5%), Whirlpool of India (-11.4%), and HBL Engineering (-8.8%) led the losers’ pack.

In contrast, Hindustan Copper (13.7%), Wockhardt (10.1%) and Himadri Speciality Chemical (8.9%) were the top winners on the index.