Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower after choppy session

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Friday, led by losses in index majors HDFC twins, Infosys and Kotak Bank amid negative global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 20.46 points or 0.03 per cent to end at 58,786.67. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 5.55 points or 0.03 per cent to 17,511.30.

Titan was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by HDFC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, SBI, M&M, TCS and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.

Domestic equities gave positive returns this week amid easing concerns pertaining to the potential severity of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

Sensex and Nifty gave positive returns of around 1.7 per cent this week. BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap index outperformed the larger indices with gains ranging between 2-3 per cent this week. The majority of the sectoral indices saw positive returns.

"Markets in the immediate term will keenly watch out for the actions on asset tapering and key policy rates in the upcoming US Federal Reserve meet," he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong ended with losses.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading in the red in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.39 per cent to USD 74.71 per barrel.