Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower Friday after registering sharp losses during the day following a drop in crude oil prices and buying in blue-chip HDFC Bank and IT stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 120.83 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 74,781.76. During the day, it fell 742.43 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 74,160.16.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 79.70 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 23,398.10. Intraday, the bemchmark tanked 246.4 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 23,231.40.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank were the major laggards.
HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, and Infosys were among the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 3.19 per cent to USD 104.2 per barrel.
“The market recovered from intraday lows, aided by value buying in select sectors, particularly IT, following a positive opening in European markets. Despite the rebound, weak market breadth suggests broader consolidation persists,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
While elevated crude prices, foreign outflows, and geopolitical uncertainty may keep volatility high, resilient domestic fundamentals and strong institutional support continue to attract buying at lower levels, limiting downside risks and supporting the medium-term outlook, he added.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading higher.
US markets ended in negative territory Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 438.24 crore Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the Sensex advanced 138.36 points, or 0.19 per cent, to settle at 74,902.59 on last-minute buying. The Nifty edged higher by 46.30 points, or 0.20 per cent, to end at 23,477.80.
