Sensex declines 182 pts on losses in IT, metal shares, sluggish Asian peers
Mumbai, May 30 (PTI): Stock markets closed lower in a range-bound trade on Friday following losses in IT shares and sluggish trends in Asian markets due to trade uncertainty after a US appeals court temporarily reinstated reciprocal tariffs.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 182.01 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,451.01 as 24 of its constituents retreated and six advanced. During the day, it dropped 346.57 points or 0.42 per cent to 81,286.45.
The NSE Nifty dipped 82.90 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,750.70.
Metals, IT, and auto sector shares declined while banking shares gained.
Investors were cautious ahead of the release of domestic GDP data post-market hours, analysts said.
Among Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra fell the most by 1.73 per cent. HCL Tech, Asian Paints, NTPC, Infosys, Nestle, Sun Pharma, and Tata Steel also closed lower.
Eternal, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finserv were the gainers.
"A range-bound movement continued in the market, with the temporary reinstatement of US tariffs by the appeal court influencing investors to stay on the sideline. The global market may contend with macroeconomic concerns as the global trade landscape has yet to see stability, which may navigate a short-term consolidation.
"Meanwhile, FII inflows continued due to the volatility in the US 10-year yield and an expectation of solid domestic Q4 GDP data later today and a rate cut by RBI," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
"Markets languished in negative territory to end lower amid weak Asian cues as investors cut their position in IT, metal, oil & gas and auto shares," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.39 per cent while smallcap index went up by 0.17 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, metal dropped the most by 1.68 per cent, followed by BSE Focused IT (1.14 per cent), commodities (1.14 per cent), utilities (1.09 per cent), teck (0.99 per cent), auto (0.91 per cent) and telecommunication (0.79 per cent).
Financial Services, bankex and capital goods were the gainers.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark declined 270.07 points or 0.33 per cent and the Nifty dipped 102.45 points or 0.41 per cent.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in the negative territory.
Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended higher on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 884.03 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 4,286.50 crore, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.44 per cent to USD 64.43 a barrel.
The BSE Sensex climbed 320.70 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 81,633.02 on Thursday. The 50-share Nifty went up by 81.15 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,833.60.
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
