Mumbai, Feb 26: Benchmark BSE Sensex slipped by 27.46 points to close at 82,248.61 in a volatile session on Thursday, dragged down by selling in HDFC Bank and other blue-chip stocks.
Investors remained cautious amid the proposed US-Iran nuclear talks, AI-related developments and tariff concerns.
The 30-share index opened higher and gained a further 303 points to hit a high of 82,579.16 in late morning deals amid optimism in other Asian markets. However, profit-taking in financial services, FMCG and realty shares dragged the index down 608 points from the day’s high, hitting a low of 81,970.47 in afternoon deals. The Sensex closed marginally down by 27.46 points or 0.03 per cent at 82,248.61.
The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 14.05 points or 0.06 per cent to end at 25,496.55.
From the Sensex pack, Trent, Eternal, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and Axis Bank were among the biggest laggards.
Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Maruti and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 5,118.57 crore.
Among sectoral indices, BSE hospitals jumped 1.35 per cent, followed by PSU bank (0.98 per cent), healthcare (0.96 per cent), capital goods (0.88 per cent), telecommunication (0.75 per cent) and industrials (0.60 per cent). FMCG, financial services, utilities, consumer durables and power were the laggards.
The BSE midcap select index climbed 0.57 per cent, while smallcap select index dipped 0.12 per cent.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.67 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also ended in positive territory, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading mostly higher. The US market ended higher on Wednesday.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.95 per cent to USD 70.18 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex ended 50.15 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 82,276.07. The Nifty went up by 57.85 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 25,482.50.
Rupee settles flat vs USD
The rupee settled on a flat note at 90.91 against the US dollar on Thursday, amid volatile global crude oil prices and a firm greenback against major rivals.
A selling rush in equities by foreign institutional investors and trade-related concerns kept the Indian currency under pressure even as market participants moved cautiously waiting domestic GDP data to be released on Friday, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.86 against the greenback and traded in a narrow range of 90.81-90.94 during the session before ending at its previous day’s closing level of 90.91 against dollar. The rupee stayed range-bound and settled with a gain of 4 paise at 90.91 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 97.73. (PTI)
