On May 3, the Nifty reached a new all-time high, with Indian equity indices opening on a positive note. However, later in the day, the indices were dragged down by declines in Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and IT equities.
The NSE’s Nifty50 dropped below the 22,500 mark, declining by over 200 points, whereas the Sensex plummeted by 1000 points, trading below the 74,000 level.
Nifty Auto, Media, Metal, Pharma, and Realty sectors witnessed an upward opening, while Nifty Financial Services saw a surge of over 1% and Nifty Bank recorded a gain of 0.5%.
After the Reserve Bank of India removed restrictions on Bajaj Finance’s lending products, the company’s shares surged by over 6%, allowing it to “resume sanction and disbursal of loans” in previously restricted areas. This made it the top gainer on the Sensex.
Asian markets started the day on a positive note, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index climbing by 1.1%, anticipating the release of US jobs data. Wall Street saw gains in stocks overnight, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 2% after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that further interest rate hikes were improbable.
The early trading session on Friday witnessed a rise in oil prices, although the economic outlook for the US remained uncertain. Additionally, the Israel-Hamas conflict was causing disruptions in crude supply, leading to weekly losses for the benchmarks.
US West Texas Intermediate crude for June rose by 19 cents to reach $79.14 per barrel, while Brent crude futures for July gained 18 cents, reaching $83.86 per barrel.
