Sensex ends lower on Friday, Nifty below 8,150; Bharti Airtel top loser

The benchmark indices ended the Friday’s session lower as markets looked to settle down after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday issued an outlook that was more hawkish than expected.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 26,489, down 30 points, while the broader Nifty50 closed at 8,139, down 14 points.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, remained negative. On the BSE, 1,486 shares declined and 1,122 shares rose. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.

Bharti Airtel was the top loser and lost 3% on the BSE. Other losers included ONGC, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank and ITC.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) lost 2% after the company announced that it has bagged a major order for supply of 118 sets of IGBT-based traction converters for 3 phase 6,000 HP electric locomotives. Valued at Rs 200 crore, the order has been placed on Bhel by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW).

Among other decliners, drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma’s shares hit their lowest in more than nine months after the company was named in a lawsuit alleging it colluded with other drugmakers to fix prices of two commonly used drugs in the United States.

Other drug makers also fell on lingering concerns about potential action from the US Food and Drug Administration. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell as much as 2.52%, while Alkem Laboratories declined up to 1.5%.

Among gainers, Swan Energy jumped 5% after the company said that Government of Gujarat has decided to participate by investing 26% in equity of company’s LNG port project in Gujarat.

Claris Lifesciences surged 20% to Rs 430, also its record high on the BSE after the company said it has entered into a definitive agreement with US-based Baxter International Inc. to sell its wholly owned subsidiary Claris Injectables for approximately $625 million (Rs 4,237 crore).