Indian equity benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, tumbled on Friday as global investors exercised caution after the US airstrike killed Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, fuelling fears of a geopolitical conflict. Brent crude futures surged 4.4 percent to $69.16 per barrel as investors turned jittery on supply concerns. India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, imports about 80 percent of its oil needs, making it highly susceptible to crude price swings.

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The 30-share BSE index ended 162.03 points, or 0.39 percent, lower at 41,464.61. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty closed 55.55 points, or 0.45 percent, down at 12,226.65.

For the week, both the Sensex and Nifty shed around 0.3 percent each. The Nifty Midcap Index is the only major index to end the week with gains of nearly 2 percent, while the volatility index, India VIX, recorded its best weekly gain since August 2019, up over 20 percent.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal surged 3.2 percent this week as investors remained optimistic about the first phase of the US-China deal. The Nifty Media slipped the most, down 3 percent this week.

Among stock gainers, Tata Motors rose 8.5 percent this week, despite the Tata Group automobile major reporting an almost 14 percent dip in its overall sales, including exports in December, on a year-on-year basis. The company's overall sales fell to 46,903 units from 54,439 units sold during December 2018.

Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal on Thursday said it has maintained 'BUY' rating on four auto stocks: Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors.

GAIL, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement and Coal India rose between 3 and 6 percent, being the other major gainers this week.

Billionaire Gautam Adani's port-to-power Adani Group has acquired a majority stake in Snowman Logistics Ltd for Rs 296 crore to foray into cold chain logistics, giving the boost to the company's share.

Among Nifty losers, Zee Entertainment fell 8.5 percent this week after Trai in a bid to ease the rising cost for cable viewers has fixed Rs 160 as the maximum price for all channels offered by a distributor.

Bajaj Auto also declined by 5.2 percent this week reported a total sales at 3.36 lakh units in December 2019, down 3 percent YoY, from 3.46 lakh units in 2018. The Bajaj Group company's domestic sales fell 15 percent YoY to 1.53 lakh units in December 2019 from 1.80 lakh in December 2018.

Eicher Motors also reported a 16.5 percent dip in its December 2019 sales on monthly basis. The makers of Royal Enfield sold 50,416 units in December, down 16.5 percent from November's 60,411 units. Its shares declined over 4 percent this week. Titan, Asian Paints and Bharti Infratel were other major losers this week, falling 2 and 4.5 percent.

From the midcap space, Indiabulls Real Estate was the top gainer, rising almost 40 percent this week. Sharda Cropchem, VA Tech, Adani Green and Jindal Drilling were other major midcap gainers, rising between 27 and 37 percent. Dishman, Igarashi Motor, Delta Corp, Bank of Baroda, DLF and Canara Bank were major losers from the midcaps this week, declining by up to 22 percent.

First Published:Jan 3, 2020 5:35 PM IST