Sensex slips 216 points as IT shares plunge; Nifty ends at 11,914


Extending its slide for the second consecutive day, the domestic equity market ended with nearly half a per cent loss on Friday, mainly dragged by information technology (IT) shares. Besides, uncertainty on US-China trade deal talks, too, hurt sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex lost 216 points or 0.53 per cent to end at 40,359 levels. During the day, the index hit a high and low of 40,653.17 and 40,276.83, respectively. Tata Steel (up over 4 per cent) was the top gainer on the index while IT major Infosys (down around 3 per cent) was the biggest loser.

On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index ended at 11,914, down 54 points or 0.45 per cent with 29 constituents declining and 21 advancing.

In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 index ended flat at 16,868, up just 5 points or 0.03 per cent while Nifty Small Cap 100 index ended at 5,702, down over 4 points or 0.08 per cent.

India VIX declined over a per cent to 14.82 levels.

Sectorally, IT stocks declined the most with the Nifty IT index ending 2 per cent lower at 14,996 after reports said Goldman Sachs has downgraded counters such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, and Mphasis. The brokerage, as per reports, noted that the IT sector, as a whole, will face cyclical hiccup ahead and the current valuation of the sector is at premium to historical average.

Financial and FMCG stocks, too, ended in the negative territory. On the flip side, metal stocks witnessed sharp rally in the fag-end of the session. Nifty Metal index added over 2 per cent to 2,521 levels.

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Indices pare gains, Sensex ends 70 points higher; Airtel up 9%


Equity market ended an action-packed day in the positive territory on Friday, though the benchmark indices trimmed most of their gains towards the end of the session. Shares of telecom companies – Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel surged amid hopes that the government would step in to help the ailing sector, a day after the two companies reported a combined loss of Rs 74,000 crore and warned their ability to operate and make profits would depend on relief from the country.

Besides, rally in PSU banks post Supreme Court ruling in Essar Steel case and reports that important trade issues between India and the US have been resolved and the countries may sign initial trade package boosted investor sentiment. That apart, US-China trade deal hopes, too, cheered market particpants.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 70 points or 0.17 per cent higher at 40,356.69. During the day, the index hit a high and low of 40,650.06 and 40,308.09, respectively. Bharti Airtel (up around 8.50 per cent) emerged as the biggest gainer on the index while Hero MotoCorp (down nearly 2 per cent) was the top laggard.

SBI, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries (RIL), and Sun Pharma contributed the most to the index’s gains while ITC, TCS and Maruti were the top drags. In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,773 levels, up 93 points or 0.63 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 17 points or 0.13 per cent to end at 13,326.40.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index added 23 points or 0.20 per cent to end at 11,895.30 levels.

Sectorally, PSU bank stocks advanced the most. Pharma counters came second on the list. Nifty PSU Bank index climbed 3.50 per cent to 2,462.75 levels. On the other hand, auto stocks bled the most with the Nifty Auto index falling 0.54 per cent to 8,146.65 levels.

Volatility guage India VIX declined over 4 per cent to 14.96 levels.

On a weekly basis, Sensex added 0.08 per cent while Nifty lost 0.10 per cent.

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Sensex slides 330 points on Moody’s downgrade; Sun Pharma down 4%


Equity market was highly volatile in the afternoon session on Friday with the benchmark indices oscillating berween the positive and negative territories after Moody’s Investors Services downgraded India’s sovereign outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’, saying concerns mount the economic slowdown will be prolonged and debt will rise.

After hitting a fresh record high of 40741.69 levels during the session, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex was trading around 100 points lower. Private Banks were trading higher, with ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and YES Bank up in the range of 3-7 per cent. On the downside, Sun Pharma was trading nearly 3 per cent lower.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 slipped below the crucial 12,000-mark to hover around 11,950 levels. .

Sectorally, Nifty Realty index was the top gainer, up 2.3 per cent, followed by gains in Nifty Private Bank (up 0.74 per cent), and Nifty Auto (up 0.58 per cent) indices. On the flipside, Nifty Pharma and FMCG indices, each, were trading over a per cent lower.

The broader markets, however, were trading in the green. The S&P BSE mid-cap index was up 0.06 per cent, while the S&P BSE small-cap index was up 0.12 per cent.

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