Sensex, Nifty off to choppy start
Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started on a tepid note on Friday ahead of quarterly results of index heavyweights Reliance Industries, TCS and HCL Tech. The 30-share BSE index was trading 3.68 points or 0.01 per cent lower at 41,928.88. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 1.85 points or 0.01 per cent to 12,353.65. IndusInd Bank, SBI, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank, Power Grid and Ultratech Cement were among the top losers in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 2.50 per cent. Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying up to 4 per cent.
Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), TCS and HCL Tech were trading higher ahead of their quarterly earnings, scheduled for release later in the day.
According to traders, domestic investors are awaiting key corporate results for cues amid concerns over macroeconomic issues like higher bank NPAs and a spike in retail inflation.
Bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note in their early sessions, while Hong Kong was in the red.
Benchmarks on Wall Street ended at record highs on Thursday.
Brent crude oil futures slipped 0.05 per cent to USD 64.59 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 5 paise to 70.98 against the US dollar in the morning session.
In the previous session, Sensex settled at 41,932.56, up 59.83 points, or 0.14 per cent. Likewise, the Nifty closed at 12,355.50, showing a gain of 12.20 points, or 0.10 per cent.
Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 395.24 crore, while domestic institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 184.65 crore on Thursday, data available with stock exchanges showed.
(With PTI inputs)
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