By IANS,
Mumbai: A key Indian equities index closed 1.19 percent lower Friday after falling sharply in the late afternoon session.
The 30-scrip benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sensex, which opened at 16,915.96 points, shut shop at 16,642.66 points, down 200.88 points or 1.19 percent from Thursday’s closing figure of 16,843.54 points.
The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too ended in the red at 4,945.2 points, down 1.14 percent.
Broader market indices also closed in the negative terrain, with the BSE midcap index moving down 0.69 percent and the BSE smallcap index closing 0.69 percent lower.
Selling pressure was seen across sectors with auto, banking and IT stocks losing the most.
The market breadth was negative with 968 stocks advancing, 1,792 declining and 71 remaining unchanged.
There were only four gainers on the Sensex: Bharti Airtel, up 2.54 percent at Rs.343.15; ONGC, up 1.4 percent at Rs.1,220; Reliance Communications, up 1.24 percent at Rs.249.35; and Hindustan Unilever, up 0.09 percent at Rs.287.05.
Among the top losers were Tata Motors, down 6.66 percent at Rs.548.30; Sterlite, down 3.35 percent at Rs.792.75; Reliance Infra, down 2.91 percent at Rs.1,292.40; and Grasim Industries, down 2.55 percent at Rs.2,399.
According to data with the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors sold shares worth $78.2 million Thursday.
Most other Asian markets ended upbeat.
The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 183.92 points or 1.87 percent higher at 10,016.39 points.
Chinese markets opened after a 10-day holiday. At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the benchmark SSE Composite shut shop 4.76 percent up at 2,911.72 points.
The Kospi, benchmark index of the Korean Stock Exchange, ended higher at 1,646.79 points, up 31.33 points or 1.94 percent to rule at 1,646.79 points.
However, the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, closed flat at 21,499.44 points, up 6.54 points or 0.03 percent.
European markets were sluggish.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was ruling 0.06 percent higher at 5,157.63 points, while its French peer, the CAC 40, was down 0.17 percent at 3,800.48 points.
Germany’s DAX was ruling at 5,708.7 points, down 0.14 percent.