Indian stocks posted a weekly loss on Friday and the rupee fell beyond the 96 per dollar level, as rising oil prices weighed on sentiment, while IT stocks fell on renewed concerns about earnings disruption due to artificial intelligence.
Brent crude rose 3.4 percent to $109.3 a barrel after an attack on a ship and the seizure of another in the Middle East, which exacerbated concerns about energy supplies.
The rupee fell to a record low on Friday and is down 1.5% this week. Foreign outflows have reached a record high of $23.63 billion so far in 2026.
During the day, the Nifty 50 index fell 0.19% to 23,643.50 and the Sensex fell 0.21% to 75,237.99. They lost 2.2% and 2.7% during the week, snapping a two-week winning streak.
Thirteen major sectors out of 16 recorded weekly losses. Broader small and midcap stocks fell 4.6% and 2.2%, respectively.
The IT index’s 1.3% gain on Friday did little to erase its 5.7% decline during the week, as the launch of a new artificial intelligence project OpenAI, backed by a $4 billion investment, heightened concerns about revenue risks for IT companies.
Higher-than-expected US inflation data, which increased the possibility of raising interest rates this year, also put pressure on the sector.
“Investors have turned cautious with rising US bond yields, a weaker rupee and fresh hikes in fuel prices leading to renewed inflation fears,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments. Positive valuations and a strong quarterly earnings season have limited the downside, he added.
Adani Enterprises shares rose 8.4% this week after Uber said it would set up its first data center in India with the group. Reports on Thursday that the US Department of Justice is about to drop criminal fraud charges against founder Gautam Adani raised morale further.
ONGC shares rose by 7.2%, after the government reduced duties on crude oil and gas production.
Titan shares fell 7.5% after losing quarterly profits, and with jewelry stocks falling after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to avoid buying gold for a year.
During the day, BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil lost between 2.9% and 4.2%, as the rise in Brent crude prices outpaced the rise in petrol and diesel prices by more than 3%.
Passenger vehicle company Tata Motors rose 5.3% on optimism over launches, cost-cutting measures and strong volume guidance.
