Indian shares post weekly loss as Fed jitters, closing auction weigh

Indian shares edged higher on Friday, yet the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex still finished the week lower for a third straight time, their longest losing run in five months. Investors stayed cautious about a newly introduced closing auction, which sets official prices for stocks with futures and options, and about a Federal Reserve Chair speech. According to Business Recorder, the Nifty gained 0.35% to 24,175.65 and the Sensex rose 0.43% to 77,264.51 that day.

The IT index climbed 3.5%, helped by strong quarterly figures from Nvidia, while small- and mid-cap shares in India each rose 0.5%. Ten of the 16 major sectors dropped during the week, and Reliance Industries lost 2.2%. HDFC Bank fell 0.9% after a class-action suit filed in the United States accused it of illegal payments, though the bank called the claims baseless and vowed a strong defence.

Bharti Airtel dropped 3.3% over the week after Singtel, a major shareholder, signalled it would adjust its stake along with the holding of promoter Sunil Mittal, a move that could add to share supply. SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, speaking on Thursday, ruled out immediate changes to the closing auction despite the market swings. Niharika Tripathi of Wealthy.in called the MSCI rebalancing that takes effect after the close on August 31 a key test, since passive-fund flows could cause heavy order concentration.