By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index of Indian equities markets closed 88 points lower Friday owing to a fall in metals, IT and telecom stocks. Though market conditions were volatile through the day, mid- to small-sized company scrips helped steady broader market fluctuations.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened lower at 16,679.99 points, shut shop at 16,693 points, 88.43 points or 0.53 percent lower than Thursday’s close of 16,781.43 points.
The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, closed in the negative terrain at 4,958.95 points, down 0.55 percent.
Broader market indices managed to stay in the green, with the BSE midcap index closing 0.65 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index moving up 0.91 percent.
Healthcare stocks were the flavour of the day, while energy and consumer durable scrips too found some favour among buyers.
However, metals, IT and telecom scrips brought the Sensex down, with banking and capital goods stocks adding to the drag.
Thanks to the mid- and small-sized company stocks, the market breadth was positive, with 1,628 stocks advancing, 1,137 declining and 90 remaining unchanged.
Among the gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma, up 7.04 percent at Rs.1,311; Reliance Industries, up 1.21 percent at Rs.2,129.80; ITC, up 1.01 percent at Rs.234.75; and ONGC, up 0.75 percent at Rs.1,157.30.
Among the losers were Tata Steel, down 2.85 percent at Rs.498.50; ICICI Bank, down 2.5 percent at Rs.838.60; TCS, down 2.06 percent at Rs.587.05; and Tata Power, down 2.05 percent at Rs.1,284.10.
Trading was depressed at other important Asian markets.
The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 278.24 points or 2.64 percent lower at 10,265.98 points.
At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the benchmark SSE Composite ended 0.62 percent down at 2,835.75 points.
The primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, was flat at 21,024.4 points, down 26.33 points or 0.13 percent.
The Kospi, benchmark index of the Korean Stock Exchange, ended just below its last closing figure at 1,691.48 points, down a marginal 2.4 points or 0.14 percent.
Volatility was also seen at European bourses.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was ruling 17.04 points or 0.34 percent higher at 5,096.31 points, while its French peer, the CAC 40, was down 0.04 percent at 3,756.71 points.
Germany’s DAX was ruling flat at 5,606.41 points, down 1.2 points or 0.02 percent.