Sensex closes 167 points lower, Vedanta and Yes Bank top losers

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices ended lower on Friday tracking weakness in Asian peers amid global growth concerns. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 167 points or 0.43 per cent lower at 38,823 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 59 point to 11,512. At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices were in the red.

Nifty metal was down by 2.6 per cent, realty by 2.3 per cent, pharma by 2 per cent and auto by 1.4 per cent. Among stocks, Vedanta plunged by 5.7 per cent due to profit-booking, a day after it jumped 6.47 per cent after reports said that the government is looking to sell its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc.

Private lender Yes Bank tumbled by 5 per cent after Yes Capital India Pvt Ltd (YCIPL), part of its promoter group, sold 1.8 per cent shareholding in the bank. The other major losers were IndusInd Bank which slipped by 4.9 per cent, Tata Steel by 4.7 per cent and Zee Entertainment by 4.6 per cent.

However, Bharti Airtel gained by 2.9 per cent while Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, ITC and Kotak Mahindra Bank showed marginal gains. Meanwhile, Asian shares were on course for a second straight week of losses. The release of a whistleblower complaint against US President Donald Trump heightened uncertainties about the global economy which is already reeling under the impact of US-China trade tariff issues.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slipped by 0.1 per cent while Japan`s Nikkei slid by 0.7 per cent, Hang Seng by 0.3 per cent and Kospi by 1.2 per cent. A whistleblower report released on Thursday said Trump not only abused his office in attempting to solicit Ukraine`s interference in the US election for his political benefit but that the White House tried to lock down evidence about that conduct.

The report came after the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry into him.