Amid volatility, equity indices end in red for 3rd straight session (Roundup)

The key Indian equity indices ended the Friday's largely volatile session on a negative note, with the S&P BSE Sensex shedding nearly 100 points.

The market was weighed down by outflow of foreign investments, along with heavy selling activity in metal, auto and healthcare stocks.

The indices had opened in the green, tracking firm Asian markets, though they could not hold on to the gains for long.

Index-wise, the wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 10,930.45 points, lower 47.10 points or 0.43 per cent from its previous close.

The BSE Sensex, which had opened at 36,452.74 points, closed at 36,227.14 points, down 97.03 points or 0.27 per cent from its Thursday's close at 36,324.17 points.

It touched an intra-day high of 36,551.86 points and a low of 35,985.63 points.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE Mid-cap declined 1.6 per cent, while the S&P BSE Small-cap fell 3.41 per cent, from their previous close.

Major Asian markets closed on a positive note, barring the Taiwan and KOSPI indices, while the European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 traded in the red, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee closed at 72.48 per US dollar, 11 paise stronger from its previous close of 72.59.

Rupee appreciated as the government on Wednesday raised import duties on various items in order to narrow down the current account deficit and arrest the fall of Indian currency, according to analysts.

Investment-wise, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 1,699.94 crore and domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 3,256.34 crore.

The top Sensex gainers were: Axis Bank, up 2.28 per cent at Rs 612.35; HDFC, up 1.49 per cent at Rs 1,755.50; HDFC Bank, up 1.40 per cent at Rs 2,005.65; ITC, up 1.18 per cent at Rs 296.70; and Wipro, up 1.12 per cent at Rs 324.20 per share.

On the other hand, major losers included Yes Bank, down 9.72 per cent at Rs 183.45; Hero Moto Corp, down 5.16 per cent at Rs 2932.15; Bharti Airtel, down 5.01 per cent at Rs 338.25; Tata Steel, down 4.85 per cent at Rs 580.35; and Vedanta, down 3.60 per cent at Rs 231.75 per share.

--IANS

ravi/nir