Sensex, Nifty Snap Five-Day Winning Streak as IT Selloff, Reliance Drag Benchmarks

Mumbai, June 19: Indian benchmark indices ended sharply lower on Friday, snapping a five-session winning streak, as a steep selloff in information technology stocks and weakness in Reliance Industries outweighed positive sentiment from easing crude oil prices and improving global risk appetite. 

The BSE Sensex fell 607.08 points, or 0.78%, to close at 76,802.90, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 154.90 points, or 0.64%, to settle at 24,013.10. 

The decline was led by technology stocks after global IT bellwether Accenture forecast quarterly revenue below Wall Street estimates and flagged a $400 million hit to its Middle East business from the Iran conflict in the third quarter, while warning of further impact in the fourth quarter. The cautious outlook raised concerns about demand trends for Indian IT services firms. 

Heavyweight IT stocks including Infosys, TCS, HCLTech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra witnessed broad-based selling, dragging the Nifty IT index sharply lower and exerting significant pressure on the benchmarks. 

Reliance Falls Despite Big AGM Announcements 

Sensex finally fell after five sessions of continuous rise. Source: BSE  

Reliance Industries also weighed on the market, with the stock falling 1.4% despite a series of high-profile announcements at its annual general meeting. 

The conglomerate announced that its board had approved draft papers for the proposed initial public offering of Jio Platforms, paving the way possibly India’s largest-ever public offerings. Chairman Mukesh Ambani also unveiled an ambitious artificial intelligence strategy and outlined plans for a sovereign satellite constellation aimed at strengthening India’s digital infrastructure. 

However, the announcements failed to inspire. Given Reliance’s significant weight in benchmark indices, the decline added to the pressure created by the IT selloff. 

Broader Market Shows Resilience 

Despite weakness in the headline indices, the broader market remained relatively resilient. 

Market breadth improved notably, with 2,137 stocks advancing against 1,905 declines on the NSE, indicating that buying interest persisted across several segments even as heavyweight stocks dragged benchmarks lower. 

Several pockets of the market continued to attract investor interest, including defence, pharma and healthcare. 

Lower Oil Prices Fail to Support Sentiment 

The benchmarks ended in negative territory, as lower crude oil prices following the interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran earlier this week failed to offset pessimism among stocks. 

Nifty 50 took a beating from the IT selloff as the index dove 0.6% ending its winning streak. Source: NSE 

The decline in oil prices had eased concerns about inflation and India’s external balance, a key positive for the world’s third-largest crude importer. To be sure, the five-day rally in benchmark indices before Friday’s decline was driven largely by the slide in crude prices, which improved the macroeconomic outlook and boosted risk appetite. 

Focus Turns to Global Demand Trends 

Going forward, investors are expected to closely monitor developments in the global technology sector and crude oil prices. 

While lower energy costs remain supportive for Indian equities, Friday’s session highlighted the market’s sensitivity to global growth signals and technology spending trends. At the same time, the positive market breadth suggests investors remain willing to deploy capital into sectors with strong earnings visibility and favourable policy support, even as concerns emerge over the outlook for the IT sector. 

Source

• NSE
• BSE