Equity, rupee finish tough week on winning note; bonds weaken sharply

The Indian benchmark indices snapped their four-day losing streak to end Friday’s session higher amid some short covering and surge in index heavyweight HDFC Bank. Iran's downplaying of the impact of Israeli strikes also eased concerns about a wider war in West Asia.
 

Despite the gains on Friday, both indices finished the week in red for the first time in three weeks. The Sensex fell 1.6 per cent this week, and the Nifty 50 declined 1.7 per cent. 
 

The rupee, on the other hand, hit a new intraday low of 83.57 against the dollar but pared losses later in the day. The yield on the benchmark 10-year-government bond, too, rose by 4 basis points (bps) to settle at 7.23 per cent. On a weekly basis, both rupee and government bonds weakened sharply.