Market prepares for a slow grind

THE NIFTY SLUMPED 420 points, or 1.86%, on Friday to close at its lowest since June 2024 at 22,124.

- VK SHARMA

The markets didn't know what hit them as 789 stocks or 26.5% of the stocks traded hit their 52-week lows. Small-cap stocks bore the brunt as the small-cap index slipped 3.01%.

For the week, the Nifty slumped 2.94% and the small-cap index tanked 5.99%.

For the month, the fall was 5.89% and 13.07%, respectively.

With this 5.89% fall in February, the Nifty now has closed lower for the fifth month on the trot.

This equals the record of five consecutive falls on monthly charts that the Nifty had recorded from July to November 1996.

Last week, we had reiterated that the markets could retest election-time lows seen during the week ended June 7, 2024, at 21,281.