Trade-war fears halt equity indices' record run; banking stocks fall (Roundup)

Trade-war concerns and the resultant weak global sentiments subdued the key Indian equity indices on Friday, halting the recent record run.

Of late, the Indian equity market has been hovering around record levels, and on Thursday both the key indices of S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 had touched their respective all-time intra-day and closing highs.

On Friday, however, sentiments in both the domestic and global markets were subdued as China and the US could not achieve a major breakthrough in their latest round of talks. Rather, the trade war escalated on Thursday as both the countries enforced 25 per cent tariffs on each other's goods worth $16 billion.

Index-wise, the wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 11,557.10 points, down by 25.65 points or 0.22 per cent from its previous close of 11,582.75 points.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,366.79 points, closed at 38,251.80 points, lower by 84.96 points or 0.22 per cent from its previous close of 38,336.76 points. It touched an intra-day low of 38,172.77 points.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE Mid-cap declined by 0.26 per cent and the S&P BSE small-cap ended 0.34 per cent lower than its previous close. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,569 declines and 1,140 advances.

"Sentiments turned sour after it became evident that there will be no major progress with respect to the ongoing trade conflict between China and the US," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager for Equities at BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee opened on a weak note but recoverd to settle at 69.91 per dollar, 21 paise stronger than its previous close of 70.12 per dollar.

Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 75.78 crore whereas domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 904.75 crore.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE metal index rose 249.30 points, the oil and gas index 63.98 points and the healthcare index 55 points.

In contrast, the S&P BSE banking index declined 254.91 points, the consumer durable index fell 172.66 points and auto index ended 112.52 points lower from its previous close.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta, up 4.26 per cent at Rs 223.95; ONGC, up 1.83 per cent at Rs 174.90; Axis Bank, up 1.23 at Rs 639.60; Wipro, up 0.97 per cent at Rs 292.30; and Mahindra and Mahindra, up 0.74 per cent at Rs 968.80 per share.

The majors losers were Yes Bank, down 3.52 per cent at Rs 374.65; Hero Motocorp, down 2.08 per cent at Rs 3,212.60; ICICI Bank, down 2.02 per cent at Rs 330.10; Adani Port, down 1.98 per cent at Rs 376.20 per share; and Indus Bank, down 1.57 per cent at Rs 1,927.25 per share.

--IANS

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