Sensex, Nifty end flat after a day of choppy trade, IT stocks shine

The BSE Sensex, which had gained 95.61 points in Thursday’s session, settled the day 11.71 points or 0.03% lower 34,415.58, while the NSE Nifty ended largely unchanged, 1.25 points or 0.01% lower.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended a choppy day of trade 11 points or 0.03% lower on Friday, in tandem with weak global cues amid rupee’s plunge below the 66 mark against the US dollar.

Brokers said that besides continued capital outflows by foreign funds, profit-booking in recent gainers, the rupee’s fall below the 66-mark against the dollar and higher global crude oil prices, hurt trading sentiments. (Reuters File Photo)

Besides, the release of the minutes of last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on April 4-5, indicating the Reserve Bank of India may shift to a hawkish monetary stance in June, weighed on investor sentiment.

The BSE Sensex, which had gained 95.61 points in Thursday’s session, settled the day 11.71 points or 0.03% lower 34,415.58, while the NSE Nifty ended largely unchanged, 1.25 points or 0.01% lower.

However, IT stocks stole the show, with TCS emerging as the top performer in the BSE Sensex pack, a day after the company reported a 4.4 per cent rise in March quarter net profit and guided towards a better show in fiscal 2019.

Major laggards on the BSE Sensex were Yes Bank,Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, SBI, Adani Ports, and NTPC, falling up to 3%.

Meanwhile, foreign funds sold shares worth ₹624.99 crore in Thursdays trade, provisional data showed.

Globally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.18%, while Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.73% in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei, however, rose 0.14%.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.34% lower in Thursday’s trade.