MUMBAI, May 16: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday due to profit-taking in IT shares and Bharti Airtel after a sharp rally in the previous session.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 200.15 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 82,330.59. During the day, it lost 383.79 points or 0.46 per cent to 82,146.95.
The NSE Nifty dropped 42.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 25,019.80.
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Bharti Airtel dropped by 2.81 per cent after Singtel sold about 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in the firm for around USD 1.5 billion in sync with its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably.
HCL Tech, State Bank of India, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan were also among the losers in the Sensex pack.
Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, ITC, Tata Motors and NTPC were among the gainers.
“Markets languished in negative territory throughout the trading session and ended weak due to selective profit-taking in IT, banking and metal shares.
“However, broader indices like mid and smallcap indices coupled with most sectoral stocks ending in positive territory shows that investors are cautiously optimistic on equities, despite global uncertainties,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.18 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.85 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, industrials surged the most by 1.80 per cent, followed by realty (1.72 per cent), capital goods (1.63 per cent), utilities (1.44 per cent), power (1.37 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.87 per cent).
IT, teck, BSE Focused IT, metal and bankex were the laggards.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark gauge jumped 2,876.12 points or 3.61 per cent, and the Nifty surged 1,011.8 points or 4.21 per cent.
“Markets traded lacklustre after Thursday’s surge and ended marginally lower, in the absence of any fresh triggers. The tone remained subdued from the outset, with consolidation in heavyweight stocks across sectors capping the move throughout the session,” Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd stated that investor sentiment remained upbeat, with sustained momentum in mid- and small-cap stocks, as well as rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, NBFCs, automobiles, and consumer durables.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled lower while South Korea’s Kospi ended in the positive territory.
European markets were trading with gains. US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.09 per cent to USD 64.59 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 5,392.94 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Sensex jumped 1,200.18 points or 1.48 per cent to settle at a seven-month high of 82,530.74 on Thursday. The Nifty surged 395.20 points or 1.60 per cent to reach a seven-month peak of 25,062.10. (PTI)
