Sensex ends 336.36 points down at 40793.81, Nifty closes near 12056; Bharti Infratel, Adani Ports gain

Mumbai: Ahead of the country`s second-quarter GDP data which is likely to come lower than 5 per cent, the Sensex was down 336.36 points or 0.82% at 40793.81, while Nifty was down 95.20 points or 0.78% at 12056. Major losers on the Nifty were Zee Entertainment, Yes Bank, HUL, SBI, and Dr Reddys Laboratories while gainers include Bharti Infratel, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and NTPC.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red led by the metal, auto, pharma, PSU bank, FMCG, IT and infra. About 1210 shares have advanced, 1318 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged. 

During early hours on Friday, equity benchmark indices tumbled into the negative terrain-following weak global cues as investors feared that passage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy bill in Washington could derail trade talks between the United States and China.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 243 points to 40,888 while the Nifty 50 rolled down by 57 points at 12,094. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty auto, financial services, FMCG and IT in the red.

Among stocks, the prominent losers were Dr Reddy`s, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Lever, HDFC and Mahindra & Mahindra. However, Bharti Infratel continued to climb up and added gains of 5.6 per cent at Rs 271.05 per share while Bharti Airtel was up by 1.8 per cent. Yes Bank gained by 4.3 per cent, Zee Entertainment by 2 per cent and GAIL by 1.7 per cent.

At 12 noon, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 417 points or 1.01 per cent to 40,713 while the Nifty 50 tumbled down by 121 points at 12,030.All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty metal down by 1.6 per cent, auto by 1.2 per cent, FMCG by 1 per cent and PSU bank by 0.9 per cent.

Among stocks, Hindalco lost by 3.3 per cent, Tata Steel by 2.2 per cent, Vedanta by 1.9 per cent and Maruti Suzuki by 1.5 per cent. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries slipped by 1.5 per cent to Rs 1,556.25 per share, and other prominent losers were Hindustan Lever, Britannia, Asian Paints, State Bank of India and Dr Reddy`s.

However, Bharti Infratel continued to climb up and added gains of 5.9 per cent at Rs 271.95 per share while Bharti Airtel was up by 1.3 per cent. Adani Ports, utility major NTPC and Bharat Petroleum Corporation were also in the green.

Meanwhile, Asian markets slipped as investors turned cautious, fearing a new US law backing Hong Kong protesters could put hurdles in efforts to end the US-China trade conflict.MSCI`s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell by 0.9 per cent. Hong Kong led the losses, dropping by 2 per cent while South Korean shares lost by 1.2 per cent and Japan`s Nikkei eased by 0.1 per cent. (ANI)

(with Agency Inputs)