Sensex ends in the red, closes 53.73 points at 40,248.23

Equity markets closed with minor losses on Tuesday (November 5). The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 53.73 points to close at 40,248.23, while the broader 50-share NSE Nifty finished trading at 11,917.20, down 24.10 points. Trading was largely flat through the session even as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 138.53 crore in the capital market on Tuesday. The top gainers of the day were Bajaj Finance, YES Bank and Bharti Airtel.

Globally, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading higher on optimism over the US-China trade deal. All sectoral sub-indices, apart from Nifty FMCG, finished in the red, with Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank losing a percent each.

The equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on Tuesday despite buoyancy in global markets amid positive signs over US-China trade talks. At 10:15 am, the Sensex was up by just 1 point at 40,303, while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 5 points to 11,936. 

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty FMCG, IT and media in the red. Nifty PSU bank was up by 1.3 per cent and auto by 0.8 per cent. Among stocks, Yes Bank was the top winner with a gain of 3.17 per cent at Rs 68.25 per share. 

Reports said ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bought 1.29 crore shares (or 0.5 per cent stake) in the private lender through open market transactions a day earlier. Tata Motors and State Bank of India gained by 1.8 per cent each while Maruti and Hindalco edged higher by 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively. 

However, Zee Entertainment, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Coal India, Tata Consultancy Services and Sun Pharma witnessed marginal losses. Meanwhile, Asian shares saw a rally on signs the United States and China are moving closer to a truce in their trade war. 

In the morning, rupee inched up 4 paise to 70.73 against the US dollar in early trade, ,following increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.