FX.co ★ Sensex Ends Lower, Still Logs Weekly Gain

The BSE Sensex in India closed down by approximately 0.85%, settling at 81,306.85 on Friday. This decline halted its six-day streak of gains, as global market sentiment grew more cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Additionally, traders were on edge due to the approaching implementation of US tariffs on Indian imports, set to begin on August 27. Compounding the situation, the cancellation of the US delegation's visit to India from August 25 to 29 has placed negotiations for a prospective bilateral trade agreement on hold. This would have been the sixth round of talks aimed at progressing towards such an agreement. In the stock market, notable declines were seen in Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, and ITC, each dropping around 2%. Key banking institutions like Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, and SBI also dipped by about 1%, along with index heavyweight Reliance Industries. Despite these challenges, the index saw a weekly gain of roughly 0.9%, marking a second consecutive week of advancement, buoyed by optimism regarding GST reforms.