Equity benchmarks fell on Friday after continuing gains, with Sensex and Nifty falling over 1-1 per cent each amid profit-booking and weak global market sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex, which started trading on a strong note, later gave up all early gains and ended 651.85 points or 1.08 per cent lower at 59,646.15. During the day, it closed 823.43 points or 1.36 per cent lower at 59,474.57. The broader NSE Nifty ended 198.05 points or 1.10 per cent lower at 17,758.45.
From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Maruti, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries were the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.
In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo closed lower, while Hong Kong closed in the green. European stock markets were trading mostly at lower levels during the mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended higher on Thursday.
“Profit-booking amid weak global cues impacted domestic indices as concerns about a hike in interest rates gripped the markets. Additionally, the dollar index and FII net sellers’ recent rally has surprised bulls. Broad-based selling was seen with index heavyweights pulling the index further down,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.38 per cent lower at $95.25 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) became net sellers after several days, selling shares worth Rs 1,706 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.