Sunday, September 20, 2026
Business

Sixth weekly loss for Sensex, Nifty as IPO drains liquidity

Bombay Stock Exchange building, Mumbai (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

The Sensex and Nifty posted a sixth weekly loss as a large NSE IPO drained liquidity from the secondary market.

The IPO was worth about Rs 22,569 crore.

The Sensex closed Friday at 74,294.96 and the Nifty at 23,346.40.

Crude oil, West Asia tensions and foreign selling also weighed on sentiment.

The Nifty nevertheless gained for a third straight session.

Banking, energy and life insurance stocks, including HDFC Life and SBI Life, were among the gainers.

The divergence between a falling Sensex and a rising Nifty on Friday reflected differences in the two indices’ constituents and bargain buying in some Nifty stocks.

On Thursday, September 17, the Sensex had closed at 74,314.59 and the Nifty at 23,270.60.

The Nifty 50 has now advanced for three sessions in a row, even though the weekly figures remain negative.

Market participants are watching crude oil prices, foreign fund flows and corporate earnings for cues on direction in the coming week.

Trading resumes on Monday, September 21, after the weekend.

On Friday, September 18, the 30-share Sensex fell 19.63 points, or 0.03 percent, to settle at 74,294.96.

The Nifty 50 rose 75.80 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 23,346.40, extending its gains to a third straight session.

For the week, the Sensex lost 0.65 percent, while the Nifty slipped 0.22 percent.

Both benchmarks extended their weekly losing streak to six weeks, which for the Sensex is the longest such run since 2020.

Crude oil remained a key factor, with Brent crude trading above the 100 dollar a barrel mark and easing to about 103 dollars on Friday.

Geopolitical concerns in West Asia continued to weigh on sentiment through the week.

Foreign institutional investor selling and elevated US bond yields were also cited among the pressures on the market.

A large NSE IPO worth about Rs 22,569 crore drew capital away from the secondary market during the week and constrained liquidity.

Bombay Stock Exchange building, Mumbai (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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