Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Friday, November 13, snapping a three-session winning streak, as a rebound in crude oil prices and the previous day's hotter-than-expected inflation print kept investors cautious. The BSE Sensex closed at 81,592.45, down 318.56 points or 0.39 per cent, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled at 25,144.30, down 155.05 points or 0.61 per cent, slipping below the 25,150 mark, Moneycontrol reported.

Source: Moneycontrol via TradingView

The fall extended the morning's slide, when the Sensex had tumbled about 460 points in early trade after government data released on Thursday showed retail inflation rising to 6.09 per cent in October — above the Reserve Bank of India's 6 per cent upper tolerance limit for the first time in two years, driven by food inflation of 8.94 per cent. With Brent crude trading above $95 a barrel in the later part of the session, traders worried that costlier oil would feed directly into India's import bill and keep price pressures elevated.

81,592.45Sensex close, down 318.56 points (0.39%)
25,144.30Nifty 50 close, down 155.05 points (0.61%)
94.24Rupee closing level against the US dollar
6.09%October retail inflation, above the RBI's 6% limit

Selling was broad-based. The Nifty Bank index dropped 484 points to 61,034 and the Nifty Midcap index slipped 150 points to 61,890, CNBC-TV18 reported, adding that 39 of the 50 Nifty constituents closed in the red. Realty was the worst-hit sector, with the Nifty Realty index falling 1.70 per cent, while auto, metal and banking shares also dragged the benchmarks lower. Shriram Finance was the top loser on the Nifty, according to Upstox's closing wrap.

Source: Upstox market wrap, November 13

At their intraday lows, the Sensex touched 81,288.75 and the Nifty fell to 25,054.40 before a partial recovery into the close. The rupee weakened for a second straight session, closing 21 paise lower at 94.24 against the US dollar, compared with its previous close of 94.03.

Despite Friday's fall, the week ended in positive territory: the Sensex added 0.7 per cent over the week and the Nifty rose 0.45 per cent, Moneycontrol said. Market participants now turn to the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for December 2-4, where the October inflation breach and the trajectory of crude prices are expected to dominate the rate debate.

Geojit Investments' head of research Vinod Nair was quoted in market reports as saying that rising crude oil prices had revived concerns over inflation and the possibility of further interest rate hikes, weighing on sentiment through the session.