MUMBAI: Domestic benchmark equity indices opened higher for the third successive day on Friday but failed to sustain the gains as losses in index major Reliance Industries, Housing Development Finance Corporation and Bharti Airtel weighed.

The Nifty50 index fell 0.1 per cent to 17,380.3 points, while the BSE-Sensex was at 58,422.1 points, down 0.1 per cent around 10.15 am. Both the benchmarks had risen close to 0.5 per cent in initial trades.
The sharp reversal in the market was also down to the losses in some heavyweight largecap information technology stocks as the Nifty IT index fell 0.2 per cent after gaining sharply at the opening bell.
Globally, equities have made a sharp comeback after the sell-off last week following the emergence of the new variant of the COVID-19 called ‘Omicron’. The variant that was first spotted in Africa and has since spread to 25 countries including India was found to be highly infectious.

Further, investors were surprised by the sudden hawkish tilt in the commentary of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the recent Congress testimony. Powell’s comments raised concerns that the central bank could step up roll back of its $120-billion bond buying program.
Those concerns had accelerated the outflow by foreign portfolio investors who have been net sellers of Indian equities for two months. However, the market has found support from the surge in buying from domestic institutional and retail investors.
What’s moving Dalal Street?
Receding COVID fears: While scientists are still figuring out the potential harm that the new variant of coronavirus can cause, initial evidence has suggested that the virus may be highly infectious. However, they have also indicated that its symptoms are milder and hospitalizations may not be required, which has led investors to believe that lockdowns may not be a necessity to combat any rise in cases.
Harmony with Fed: The hawkish commentary by the US Fed chair on inflation has been digested by the market. Investors see the hawkish pivot from the US Fed chair as evidence that the central bank does not wish to be left too much behind-the-curve that could cause it to raise interest rates at a faster rate later and push the US economy into a recession.
Lack of conviction: While benchmark indices have made a smart pullback after slipping below 17,000 points earlier this week, investors are unlikely to make bold bullish bets in the market till new triggers emerge. With the year-end close, some investors may also continue to book profits following a year of stellar returns.
Broader Markets
Midcap and smallcap stocks fared better than their largecap peers reflecting receding concerns over economic growth. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 0.3 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.9 per cent. The gains in the segment were driven by shares of financial services, media and automobile companies.
Shares of 

Zee Entertainment Enterprises

Maruti Suzuki India’s shares fell nearly 1 per cent after brokerage firm CLSA Asia-Pacific downgraded the stock to “sell” from “underperform” earlier and cut price target to Rs. 6,420 citing loss in market share in high-margin SUV segment.

Shares of Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel were the biggest drag on the benchmark indices, while those of ITC fell 0.3 per cent.

Overall, the breadth of the market was strong as advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the National Stock Exchange.