Stocks close on negative note, PNB drops by 5 pc

Equity indices witnessed a choppy trading session during afternoon on Tuesday and ended in the negative terrain led by losses in pharma and banking stocks.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 54 points lower at 40,248 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 24 points to 11,917. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the negative zone except for Nifty FMCG. Nifty media was down by 1.4 per cent, pharma by 1.1 per cent and PSU bank by 0.8 per cent.

Among stocks, Punjab National Bank plunged by over 5 per cent despite reporting a profit of Rs 507 crore in the second fiscal quarter. Traders apparently factored in the poor asset quality.

Zee Entertainment dropped by 3.7 per cent following reports that Subhash Chandra may soon lose control of the company as lenders prepare to sell their pledged shares.

IndusInd Bank dropped by 2.3 per cent, Sun Pharma by 2 per cent, Infosys by 1.9 per cent and Coal India by 1.8 per cent. JSW Steel and Tata Steel slipped by 1.3 per cent each.

However, those which gained were Yes Bank, State Bank of India, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp.

Meanwhile, Asian shares saw a rally on signs the United States and China are moving closer to a truce in their trade war. There was optimism over the US economy which is poised for a solid, consumer-driven growth.

Japan's Nikkei rose by 1.76 per cent to a one-year high as Hong Kong's Hang Seng moved up by 0.49 per cent and South Korea's Kospi by 0.58 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index too was up by 0.54 per cent.

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