Equity markets turned sharply lower at the fag-end of the session as investors digested amendments to Finance Bill, 2023. Besides, selling in US index futures and European markets also weighed on the sentiment.
Back home, under the Bill approved by the Parliament, the debt mutual fund (Debt MF) investors will no longer receive the long-term capital gain tax benefit. They will be taxed like bank deposits. It will be applicable from April 1.
The Centre also hiked the securities transaction tax (STT) on the sale of future and option contracts by up to 25 per cent.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 398 points, or 0.69 per cent, lower at 57,527 levels, while the Nifty50 shut shop at 16,945, down 132 points or 0.77 per cent.
The broad-based selling was led by metal, PSU banks, and realty indices, which were down over 2 per cent each. Individually, Bajaj Finserv (down 4 per cent), Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Coal India. Titan, HDFC Life, Reliance Industries, M&M, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki, and L&T.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined around 1.4 per cent each.
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Continuing with their lacklustre performance for the third straight day, the equity benchmark indices settled on a flat note on Friday. While the day witnessed solid buying in bluechips such as Reliance Industries (RIL), HCL Tech, HDFC Bank and TCS, the gains in the index were capped by drubbing in counters including Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and L&T.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended just 13 points higher at 36,387, while NSE’s Nifty50 index held the crucial 10,900 level to close at 10,907, up 2 points. On a weekly basis, both the indices ended 1 per cent higher.
Sectorally, barring IT, all other indices ended in the red with the pharma stocks bleeding the most. The Nifty Pharma pack lost nearly 3 per cent to end the day at 8,690.
Shares of pharma bellwether Sun Pharma crashed to their six year- low of Rs 375.40 apiece in the early trade on Friday after news reports suggested fresh whistleblower documents were sent to Sebi. The stock plunged as much as 12 per cent on BSE. The company, however, in a BSE filing clarified that it was not privy to the news reported by MoneyLife. The stock, eventually, ended nearly 9 per cent lower at Rs 390.75.
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Benchmark indices gained on Friday, as the Modi government is expected to win the no-confidence vote, to be held at 6 pm today. In the 545-member (including the Speaker) Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA can bank on around 311 members.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 36,496, up 145 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,010, up 53 points.
IT and pharma stocks gained as the rupee hit an all-time low. The Nifty IT index was trading up by 1.5 per cent with Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech up between 1.6 per cent to 2.6 per cent. Meanwhile, in the pharma sector, Sun Pharma and Cipla gained over 2.5 per cent each.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Finserv hit a record high, after the Bajaj Group-owned asset & wealth management firm posted a 41 per cent surge in its first-quarter profit on Thursday.
Bajaj Auto, on the other hand, dipped 9 per cent after the company reported a lower than expected 21% year on year (YoY) growth in standalone net profit Rs 11.15 billion in June quarter (Q1FY19). Analysts on an average had expected a profit of around Rs 13 billion for the quarter
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Equity benchmarks closed lower on Friday, with the Sensex falling more than 100 points amid consolidation as investors remained cautious ahead of quarterly earnings that will start next week with Infosys & TCS. Profit booking, further correction in technology stocks and weak European cues drove the market lower while buying in banking & financials stocks capped downside.
The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 119.01 points to 26759.23 after hitting an intraday high of 27009.61. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell to hold on to 8300 level, down 30 points at 8243.80.
The broader markets, too, were under pressure with the BSE Midcap down 0.3 percent as about 1532 shares declined against 1185 advancing shares.
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