The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, ended lower in the volatile session on Friday, making it the sixth session in a row as concerns about growth and rising interest rates dampened investor enthusiasm. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 142 points, or 0.24 per cent, to close at 59,464, while the Nifty50 declined 45 points, or 0.26 per cent, to end at 17,466.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, L&T, and Maruti closed in the negative territory. On the flip side, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, PowerGrid, and Reliance emerged as winners.
Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, M&M, JSW Steel, and Tata Steel were among the biggest losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Divis Laboratories, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Coal India, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index dipped 0.17 per cent, and the BSE SmallCap index declined 0.15 per cent. Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index plunged 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty PSU Bank index.
In the previous session on Thursday, Sensex closed at 59,605, down 139 points (0.23 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 closed at 17,511, down 43 points (0.25 per cent).
Elsewhere, the decline in Chinese stocks on Friday drove down Asian share markets, but investors found solace in the fact that the new governor of the Bank of Japan ruled against early termination of the ultra-accommodative monetary policy, which helped to drive down bond yields globally. Kazuo Ueda, who will take over as governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) in April, stated during a lower house confirmation hearing that the central bank must maintain ultra-low interest rates to support the frail economy and cautioned against the risks of responding to cost-driven inflation with monetary tightening.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.29 per cent, or 349.16 points, to end at 27,453.48, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.67 per cent, or 13.15 points, to 1,988.40.
The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 futures are up 0.4 per cent. The Nasdaq futures were down 0.2 per cent while the S&P 500 futures were flat.
International oil benchmark Brent crude traded 1.02 per cent higher at $83.05 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee ended flat at 82.75 per dollar against the previous close of 82.74.
