Sensex Declines To 60,921.84 In Early Trade; Nifty Falls To 17,927
Sensex declined 316.94 points to settle at 61,002.57 on Friday and Nifty 50 lowers 91.65 points to settle at 17,944.20.
Benchmark indices declined in early trade today dragged down by IT counters amid an overall weak global market trends.
Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, NTPC and Reliance were among the gainers.
Shilpa Medicare, TCNS Clothing, EKI Energy Services, PTC Industries and Primo Chemicals were the top gainers on Sensex.
Adani Enterprises, Biocon, Rhi Magnesita India, Minda Corporation and Adani Transmission were top losers.
Nestle, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the major laggards in the Sensex pack.
In Asian markets, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China ended lower.
In the pre-open session on Friday, Sensex slipped 300 points and NSE Nifty 50 went below 17,980.
BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 were expected to open lower today. Singapore Exchange Nifty futures was trading 102 points or 0.6 percent lower ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Street.
Meanwhile, Asian equities slipped on Friday, while the dollar hovered around six-week highs as economic data and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials revived fears that the U.S. central bank will stick to its monetary tightening path.
Data from US Labor Department overnight showed monthly producer prices accelerated in January, while a separate report from the agency showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, news agency Reuters reported.
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US stock indexes ended Thursday sharply lower as the economic data from the week underscored a sticky inflation and an economy that remains relatively strong.
Indian Indices ended marginally higher on Thursday amid volatility faced during the last minutes of trading hours as concerns over rising inflation and fears of monetary tightening worldwide hit the sentiment.
The BSE Sensex eked out marginal gains of 44.42 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 61,319.51. During the day, it jumped 407.16 points or 0.66 per cent to 61,682.25.
The NSE Nifty advanced 20 points or 0.11 per cent to end at 18,035.85.
“Markets ended marginally higher in a trading session marked with extreme volatility. Traders seem to be taking a cautious stance, especially after the rout in Adani group stocks in recent weeks.
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“With inflation levels once again inching up, there are concerns that central banks worldwide could continue their rate hiking trend, which could further hurt growth and dampen sentiment,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra jumped 5.58 per cent, followed by Nestle, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Wipro and Bajaj Finserv.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the major laggards.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.93 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.90 per cent.
Among the sectoral indices, realty jumped 1.34 per cent, metal rallied 1.28 per cent, IT climbed 1.27 per cent, industrials (1.13 per cent), commodities (1.08 per cent) and capital goods (0.97 per cent).
Financial Services, FMCG, auto and bankex were the laggards.
The government has cut windfall profit tax on export of diesel and ATF to their lowest while also reducing the levy on domestically-produced crude in line with softening international oil prices, according to an official order.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 432.15 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Among Asian markets, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong ended higher, while China settled lower.
European markets were trading in the green. The US markets had ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.35 per cent to USD 85.08 per barrel.
(With PTI inputs)
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