By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities markets ended the week with a sharp cut Friday following the government’s announcement that inflation had surged to 8.24 percent. Metal, realty, banking, FMCG and pharma stocks were prominent among the losers.
The markets started on a firm note but then turned volatile, alternating in positive and negative zones before a late selling spurt saw it close deep in the red.
The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened at 15,914.41 points and touched a high of 15,970.70 before closing at 15,572.18 points. It went down by 197.54 points or 1.25 percent compared to its closing figure Thursday.
The S&P Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange, which opened at 4,680.55 points, closed at 4,627.80. It went down by 49.15 points or 1.05 percent compared to its previous close.
The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 6,350.15 points, went down by 50.14 points or 0.78 percent.
The BSE Smallcap index, which closed at 7,696.05 points, went down by 39.54 points or 0.51 percent.
The market breadth was negative. On BSE, 1,125 shares advanced, 1,524 declined and 68 maintained status quo.
Top gainers of the day included Mahindra and Mahindra at Rs.582.20, up 3.46 percent; Tata Motors at Rs.540.05, up 1.40 percent; and Grasim at Rs.2,262.80, up 0.66 percent.
The top losers included Wipro at Rs.505, down 4.43 percent; ITC at Rs.213.15, down 4.14 percent; and Ranbaxy Labs at Rs.506.80, down 3.46 percent.