Sensex closes down by 264 points; Power Grid, ICICI Bank top losers

Mumbai: Indian equity indices closed in the red on Friday as profit booking was seen at a higher level.

Intraday, Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 85,978 and 26,277 respectively.

At closing, Sensex was down 264 points or 0.31 per cent at 85,571 and Nifty was down 37 points or 0.14 per cent at 26,178.

The market decline was led by banking stocks. Nifty Bank fell 541 points or one per cent to 53,834.

In the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, Reliance, Titan, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, TCS, SBI, M&M and ITC were the top gainers. Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement, HUL, JSW Steel and Axis Bank were the top losers.

Selling was also seen in the mid and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 88 points or 0.15 per cent at 60,381 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 19,242, down 19 points or 0.10 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, IT, PSU Bank, pharma, metal and energy were major gainers. Fin Service, FMCG, realty, media and private bank were major laggards.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said: “The Nifty took a breather after a few days of continuous gains. The sentiment remains strong as the index continues to stay above important moving averages. This strength is likely to persist as long as it remains above 25,900.”

“On the higher end, a fresh round of rally may begin above 26,300. If the Nifty moves above 26,300, it could potentially rise towards 26,600,” De added.

Another expert said: “Metals stocks saw a resurgence, while the Pharma and IT sectors saw an uptick on account of weakness in INR. Meanwhile, investors are looking forward to the Q2 earnings report, anticipating an improvement in earnings outlook.”

IANS