Sensex ends lower, Nifty falls below 11,600

Equities closed with a negative note on Friday after giving up intra-day gains during the closing hour of trading.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 87 points lower at 38,736 while the Nifty 50 was down 30 points at 11,553. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with FMCG, banks and auto in the red.

Among stocks, IT major Wipro was a prominent loser which shed 2.9 per cent at Rs 259.80 per share. ONGC lost 2.7 per cent while Bajaj Finance was down 2 per cent. Coal India, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid and Axis Bank also lost over 1.5 per cent.

However, Vedanta gained 2.4 per cent while Sun Pharma edged up 2.3 per cent. Tata Steel, Asian Paints and Yes Bank also showed gains of over 2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian shares pulled back as worries over renewed US-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China was not living up to promises it made on buying agricultural products from American farmers.

Investors awaited the release of June trade data from China while expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month kept losses in check.

.