Stock markets end lower on profit taking in IT shares; Bharti Airtel declines nearly 3 pc
Mumbai, May 16 (PTI): Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday due to profit-taking in IT shares and Bharti Airtel after a sharp rally in the previous session.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 200.15 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 82,330.59. During the day, it lost 383.79 points or 0.46 per cent to 82,146.95.
The NSE Nifty dropped 42.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 25,019.80.
Bharti Airtel dropped by 2.81 per cent after Singtel sold about 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in the firm for around USD 1.5 billion in sync with its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably.
HCL Tech, State Bank of India, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan were also among the losers in the Sensex pack.
Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, ITC, Tata Motors and NTPC were among the gainers.
"Markets languished in negative territory throughout the trading session and ended weak due to selective profit-taking in IT, banking and metal shares.
"However, broader indices like mid and smallcap indices coupled with most sectoral stocks ending in positive territory shows that investors are cautiously optimistic on equities, despite global uncertainties," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.18 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.85 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, industrials surged the most by 1.80 per cent, followed by realty (1.72 per cent), capital goods (1.63 per cent), utilities (1.44 per cent), power (1.37 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.87 per cent).
IT, teck, BSE Focused IT, metal and bankex were the laggards.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark gauge jumped 2,876.12 points or 3.61 per cent, and the Nifty surged 1,011.8 points or 4.21 per cent.
"Markets traded lacklustre after Thursday’s surge and ended marginally lower, in the absence of any fresh triggers. The tone remained subdued from the outset, with consolidation in heavyweight stocks across sectors capping the move throughout the session," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd stated that investor sentiment remained upbeat, with sustained momentum in mid- and small-cap stocks, as well as rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, NBFCs, automobiles, and consumer durables.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower while South Korea's Kospi ended in the positive territory.
European markets were trading with gains. US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.09 per cent to USD 64.59 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 5,392.94 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Sensex jumped 1,200.18 points or 1.48 per cent to settle at a seven-month high of 82,530.74 on Thursday. The Nifty surged 395.20 points or 1.60 per cent to reach a seven-month peak of 25,062.10.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
