Sensex ends choppy day 234 points down; Nifty holds 17,150; IT, FMCG weigh
Lack of directional cues kept benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 range-bound in the negative territory for better part of the day on Friday. However, the indices turned choppy and ended mildly off lows as energy prices, including crude oil futures, eased after the US and European Union signed agreement to share energy needs.
The 30-pack Sensex index had touched a low of 57,100 during the day but bounced back mildly to end at 57,362, down 233.5 points or 0.4 per cent. On NSE, the Nifty50 ended at 17,153, down 70 points or 0.4 per cent, climbing off from the day’s low of 17,0.76.
22 of the 30 Sensex stocks and 37 of the 50 Nifty50 stocks settled the day in the red. Titan Company, Tech M, Maruti Suzuki, Cipla, IOC, Nestle India, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, L&T, TCS, Wipro, and Tata Steel were the top laggards, losing upwards of a per cent each.
On the upside, Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports, SBI, Dr Reddy’s Labs, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, RIL, and SBI were the major gainers, up between 0.7 per cent and 2 per cent.
The broader markets, too, closed in the negative zone. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dipped 0.3 per cent each.
Among sectors, the Nifty Realty index was the top gainer, up 1.2 per cent. On the flipside, the Nifty Consumer Durable index was the worst hit, down over 2 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT and FMCG indices, down up to 1 per cent.