Equity benchmarks closed in the red for the first time this week on Friday as investors cashed in on recent gains amid subdued global market sentiment due to the coronavirus outbreak
Equity benchmarks closed in the red for the first time this week on Friday as investors cashed in on recent gains amid subdued global market sentiment due to the coronavirus outbreak. After a lacklustre session, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 164.18 points or 0.40 per cent lower at 41,141.85. The broader NSE Nifty settled at 12,098.35, down by 39.60 points or 0.33 per cent. On a weekly basis, the Sensex surged 1,406.32 points or 3.53 per cent, while the Nifty rose 436.50 points or 3.74 per cent. Profit-booking after the four-day rally and weak global cues weighed on the indices on the last day of the week, traders said.
Foreign capital outflows and a depreciating rupee also affected sentiment, they added. IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 2.69 per cent, followed by M&M, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, NTPC, ONGC, HCL Tech Hero MotoCorp and Axis Bank rose up to 3.30 per cent. Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 14 closed in the red while 16 gained. "In spite of the positive monetary policy which will spur growth in the economy, the market has turned flattish due to the novel coronavirus issue hurting the growth of the world's second-largest economy.
"Positive Q3 result, liquidity boost and fiscal support will bring stability in the domestic market during the medium term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Sectorally, realty, auto and telecom indices were among the major laggards, while healthcare and consumer durables rose the most among the gainers.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap and midcap indices clocked gains of 0.72 per cent and 0.42 per cent, respectively. The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic has climbed to 636 with 73 mortalities on Thursday, Chinese health officials said on Friday.
Asian shares ended lower as investors assessed the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. Bourses in Europe too were trading weak in early deals.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee slumped 25 paise to 71.43 against the US dollar (intra-day trade).
Global crude benchmark Brent Futures dropped 0.60 per cent to trade at was USD 54.79 per barrel.
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