Mumbai, Sep 18 (PTI) Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended mixed on Friday as a drop in crude oil prices was overshadowed by weakness in IT stocks and Tata Group counters.
Giving up intraday gains during the Closing Auction Session (CAS), the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 19.63 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,294.96. During the day, it surged 413.85 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 74,728.44.
Rallying for the third day, the 50-share NSE Nifty closed 75.80 points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 23,346.40.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services tanked 4.33 per cent, Titan 2.11 per cent, Asian Paints 2 per cent, Maruti 1.98 per cent, Tech Mahindra 1.82 per cent and Tata Steel 1.73 per cent.
Adani Ports, Power Grid, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the major winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.35 per cent to USD 103.4 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended significantly higher.
“Indian equities ended on a mixed-to-positive note on Friday, as softer crude prices and supportive Asian cues encouraged selective buying. Brent crude’s decline to around USD 103.3 a barrel offered some relief on concerns over inflation, the rupee and India’s import bill,” Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth, a Research Analyst firm, said.
However, weakness in IT stocks and select Tata Group counters, along with liquidity being diverted towards several large IPOs, limited the broader recovery, Radhakrishnan added.
Markets in Europe were trading lower. US markets ended higher on Thursday.
The mega Rs 22,569-crore initial public offering of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) was fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Friday, driven by encouraging response from qualified institutional buyers and non-institutional investors.
The majority of Tata Group stocks ended lower, including Tata Chemicals, which tanked 11.71 per cent after advancing in the previous session.
Tata Sons plunged into its most serious boardroom crisis since the ouster of Cyrus Mistry after directors voted to reappoint N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for a further five-year term, prompting Tata Trusts to declare the resolution void and reopen a broader battle over the conglomerate’s future.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,208.76 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the Sensex dipped 21.86 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,314.59. The Nifty ended marginally up 53 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 23,270.60.
