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Informist, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Indices ended lower Friday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as investors booked profits in metal stocks after a sharp rise in their share prices this week. Shares of precious metal companies were hit particularly hard after prices of gold and silver came off record highs.

 

The Nifty 50 was also under pressure from a decline in shares of public sector companies as analysts said they expect limited expenditure headroom in the Union Budget for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), due to be presented Sunday. The rupee's depreciation, which has been a driving force behind persistent foreign investment flight, added to investor woes, ending at another all-time closing low of INR 91.98250 per dollar.

 

The Nifty 50 closed 0.4% lower at 25320.65 points, down 98.25 points or 0.4%. The BSE Sensex closed at 82269.78 points, down 296.59 points or 0.4%. The 50-stock index came off lows and ended over 100 points above its intraday low, supported by a rise in fast-moving consumer goods majors Nestle India and Tata Consumer Products. Shares of Nestle India closed 3.5% higher after briefly touching its 52-week high as net profit and revenue of the company for the December quarter surpassed analysts' estimates.

 

The Nifty Metal index, which had been in record-high territory for a couple of months, faced a sharp correction of 5%, ending at 11827.55 points. Among industrial metal producers, shares of Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries, which had hit record highs a day prior, fell nearly 5% and 6%, respectively. JSW Steel closed almost 2% lower after hitting all-time highs Thursday. Outside the Nifty 50, National Aluminium Co., NMDC, Jindal Steel, and Steel Authority of India closed over 2-10% lower. "This is just a technical correction after industrial metals rose to their respective highs and the demand still remains strong," Manoj Jain, director of Prithvi Finmart, said. 

 

Among precious metal miners, shares of Hindustan Zinc and its parent Vedanta closed 12% and 11% lower, respectively, after a rout in gold and silver prices. The March contract of silver traded almost 15% lower at INR 340,000 per kilogram and the most active April futures contracts of gold were down over almost 6% at INR 180,499 per 10 grams on the Multi Commodity Exchange. 

 

On Thursday, future contracts of these metals had hit a record high intraday, but ended slightly lower. Prices fell as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's statements after the latest monetary policy meeting did not give a clear indication of the next interest rate cut, and some of the investors grew cautious ahead of the week-long holiday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange from Feb. 17 for the Lunar New Year holidays, Jain said.  

 

Shares of public sector companies such as Power Grid Corp. Of India, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and Coal India ended lower ahead of the Union Budget amid dwindling hopes of a positive surprise in government expenditure plans. Among index heavyweights, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank closed lower by nearly 1% and 2%, respectively, while Reliance Industries was up slightly.  

 

Shares of most telecommunication companies ended higher, with Vodafone Idea ending up over 11%. The BSE Telecommunication index closed over 2% higher at 2974.89 points. Shares of Vodafone Idea rose for third consecutive session after the company managed to narrow its net loss for the December quarter to INR 52.86 billion compared with a loss of INR 66.09 billion in the year-ago quarter. Global brokerage Citi said the adjusted gross revenue relief has strengthened Vodafone Idea's ability to pursue an aggressive three-year investment and growth strategy, CNBC TV18 reported, citing the brokerage. Shares of other telecom companies such as Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), and Sterlite Technologies closed 6-10% higher.

 

Shares of Swiggy closed almost 5% lower after the company's net loss for the December quarter widened on year and was also higher than analyst expectations. Several brokerages have trimmed their target price on the company, saying its Instamart business will likely face further profitability pressure as competition in the quick-commerce sector continued to mount. However, brokerages added that the company was well-funded and its food-delivery business showed promising growth. Global brokerage CLSA, however, downgraded Swiggy to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut its target price slightly, CNBC reported, citing the brokerage. Although Swiggy has maintained its contribution break-even guidance, the path to achieving this break-even appears steeper, CLSA said. 

 

Among other big moves, shares of Ambuja Cements closed nearly 5% lower after the company's net profit for the December quarter missed Street's estimates by a wide margin due to a surge in expenses. Shares of South Indian Bank closed 15% lower after the bank's board said Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer P. R. Seshadri does not want to be re-appointed to the post.

 

Meanwhile, shares of Aurobindo Pharma ended nearly 5% higher after the government's new import restrictions on Penicillin G, 6-APA, and Amoxicillin came into effect. The minimum import price for Penicilin at $24 offers a significant advantage to the company, according to ICICI Securities. The company has earmarked 6,000 tonnes of its 15,000-tonne capacity of Penicilin G for merchant sales, the brokerage said. 

 

The Nifty Metal index closed over 5% lower and the Nifty IT extended its slide for the second consecutive session, falling over 1%. Meanwhile, the Nifty Media index was up nearly 2%.

 

Smallcap indices fared better than their benchmark peers, with the Nifty Smallcap index closing almost 1% higher. Meanwhile, most midcap indices closed lower.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 25 rose, 24 fell, and 1 was unchanged

* Of the Sensex stocks, 14 rose and 16 fell

* On the NSE, 1,827 stocks rose, 1,318 fell, and 113 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,424 stocks rose, 1,783 fell, and 160 were unchanged

* Nifty Metal: down 5.2%; Nifty IT: down 1.0%; Nifty Media: up 1.9%

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BSE                                                 NSE

Sensex: 82269.78, down 296.59 points or 0.4%        Nifty 50: 25320.65, down 98.25 points or 0.4%

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S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 81537.70 (Jan. 23)	: 2026 Closing Low: 25048.65 (Jan. 23)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 81124.45 (Jan. 21)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 24919.80 (Jan. 21)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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