Indian equities snapped a six-day rally on Friday as investors booked profits and turned cautious ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. Benchmark indices were dragged by heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

The Nifty 50 closed at 24,870.10, down 213.65 points (0.85%), while the Sensex settled at 81,306.85, slipping 693.86 points (0.85%). Despite the pullback, the Nifty posted a weekly gain of 0.97%, marking its second straight week in the green.

Sectoral Performance

Gainers: Nifty Media (+0.95%) led with Zee Entertainment and Saregama outperforming.

Losers: Nifty Metal (-1.25%) was the biggest drag, followed by Nifty Finance (-0.96%) as 17 of 20 constituents ended in the red. IT slipped (-0.79%) but held on to weekly gains (+1.74%). Out of 11 sectoral indices, only 2 ended higher.

Market Breadth & Internals

NSE stocks traded: 3,050 Advances: 1,178 Declines: 1,762 Unchanged: 110 52-week highs: 74 52-week lows: 26 Upper circuits: 83 Lower circuits: 40

Broader markets followed the weakness — Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.14%, while Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.26%.

Stock Highlights

Draggers: HDFC Bank (-45.95 points), Reliance Industries (-22.88 points), ICICI Bank (-15.53 points). Supporters: Mahindra & Mahindra (+5.23 points), Bharti Airtel (+2.09 points), Maruti (+1.77 points). Buzzing Stocks: Hero MotoCorp fell 1.95% after HUL’s former CEO was appointed CFO. HAL surged intraday on Tejas jet orders but closed flat. Texmaco Rail rose 1.22% after bagging a ₹103.16 crore order.

Global Economic Calendar (Key Events Ahead)

US Fed Chair Jerome Powell speech (Jackson Hole Symposium) – 23 Aug US Durable Goods Orders (July) – 26 Aug Eurozone Business Climate Index (Aug) – 27 Aug India Q1 GDP growth data – 30 Aug

Today’s Top Volume Gainers (NSE)

(For educational purposes only, not investment advice)

Reliance Industries ICICI Bank HDFC Bank Zee Entertainment Texmaco Rail

What This Means for Investors

Caution Ahead of Fed – Expect volatility as global markets await Powell’s commentary on rate trajectory. Profit-Booking Likely – Heavyweights may face selling pressure, but dips in quality Large-Caps could be attractive. Mid & Small-Cap Watch – Elevated volatility in broader markets; be selective and focus on fundamentals. Sectoral Rotation – Media and select Industrials show resilience; Metals and Finance face pressure.

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