Disappointing Q3, profit booking drag equities indices lower

Mumbai, Feb 10: Indian equities markets ended on a flat-to-positive note on Friday as disappointing quarterly results, caution ahead of the release of a key macro-economic data point — the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) — and profit booking capped gains.

However, broadly positive global cues and inflow of foreign funds kept investors’ sentiments buoyed and arrested the downward spiral. The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the tiol Stock Exchange (NSE) inched up by 15.15 points or 0.17 per cent to 8,793.55 points. The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 28,367.17 points, closed at 28,334.25 points — up a miniscule 4.55 points, or 0.02 per cent, from the previous close at 28,329.70 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 28,456.18 points and a low of 28,286.80 points during the intra-day trade. The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears — with 1,551 declines and 1,307 advances. In terms of broader markets, the BSE mid-cap index fell by 0.28 per cent, whereas the small-cap index rose by 0.14 per cent.

On Friday, the NSE Nifty rose by 9.35 points or 0.11 per cent to close at 8,778.40 points,and the BSE Sensex was up 39.78 points or 0.14 per cent at 28,329.70 points. “Markets ended with margil gains on Friday after witnessing a rangebound session,” Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

“Major Asian markets ended on a positive note, barring the Jakarta index, while European indices like FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX traded higher.”

According to Vijay Singhania, founder and Director of brokerage firm Trade Smart Online, the markets traded on a lackluster note for most part of the day. “IT stocks were in focus in the day’s trade as most IT stocks moved higher,” Singhania said. On the currency front, Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, said: “Volatile USD/INR futures prices brought volatility in Indian equity market as well.”

The Indian rupee weakened by four paise to 66.88 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.84 to a greenback. In terms of investments, the provisiol data with exchanges showed that foreign institutiol investors (FIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 504.51 crore, whereas the domestic institutiol investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 224.76 crore.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE IT index augmented by 203.47 points, followed by the Teck (technology, media and entertainment) index, which surged by 88.92 points, and the capital goods index, which rose by 64.54 points. On the other hand, the S&P BSE healthcare index declined by 134.32 points, the automobile index slipped by 104.15 points, and the oil and gas index fell by 90.87 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Tata Consultancy Service (TCS), up 3.12 per cent at Rs 2396.70; Adani Ports, up 2.23 per cent at Rs 311.25; Infosys, up 2.10 per cent at Rs 968.05; Tata Steel, up 1.71 per cent at Rs 467.75; and NTPC, up 1.22 per cent at Rs 170.40.

Major Sensex losers were: Lupin, down 2.06 per cent at Rs1464.60; ITC, down 1.57 per cent at Rs 273.05; Gail, down 1.53 per cent at Rs 482.95; Dr Reddy’s Lab, down 1.50 per cent at Rs 2975.20; and Cipla, down 1.30 per cent at Rs 579.35.(IANS)