At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 458.84 points or 0.60% to 74,159.23. The Nifty 50 index fell 97.70 points or 0.43% to 22,550.50

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.01% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.45%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,547 shares rose and 1,991 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index declined 0.73% to 32,962.60. The index rose 0.01% in the past trading sessions.

Coforge (down 8.79%), LTIMindtree (down 0.73%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.71%), HCL Technologies (down 0.55%) and Infosys (down 0.42%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.3%), Persistent Systems (down 0.24%), L&T Technology Services (down 0.06%).

Stock in Spotlight:

JBM auto shed 0.08%. The JBM Group company’s consolidated net profit surged 98.61% to Rs 55.75 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 28.07 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 47.11% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,485.95 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Global Market:

Most of the Asian markets advanced on Friday as investors look ahead to the release of key U.S. employment data later today. Stock markets in Japan and mainland China were shut for public holidays.

The employment data release will be closely watched by the trading community after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The Japanese yen was still in focus as it continued to show strength against the U.S. dollar amid suspected government intervention to support the currency on Monday.

Stocks in the U.S. closed higher on Thursday as investors looked ahead to more earnings as well as the nonfarm payrolls report set to be released on Friday.