2025.08.2205:20:20UTC+00Indian Stocks Dip but Head for Second Weekly Gain

On Friday morning, Indian shares experienced a decline of 370 points, or 0.5%, settling at 81,630. This dip came amid investor caution in anticipation of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming address at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. The BSE Sensex ended its six-day winning streak, a period that had been bolstered by positive sentiment regarding Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms. This downturn follows a near four-week high achieved the previous day, influenced by an overnight decrease on Wall Street due to ongoing sell-offs in technology stocks and speculation surrounding Powell's forthcoming comments. Almost every sector saw declines, with financial services leading at a 0.9% drop, closely followed by banking at 0.8%, metals at 0.7%, technology at 0.6%, and oil & gas at 0.5%. Notable underperformers included HCL Tech, down 1.4%; HDFC Bank, down 1.5%; Asian Paints, down 1.5%; JSW Steel, down 1.3%; and ITC, down 1.3%. However, for the week, the index is projected to register a 1.3% increase, which would represent a second consecutive week of gains, spurred largely by favorable sentiments surrounding GST reforms.