Mumbai:
Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Thursday after a volatile session amid expiry of monthly derivative contracts.
Traders said weak cues from global markets also weighed on investor sentiment here, leading to the indices closing in the red for the second straight day.
After swinging 581.83 points during the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 26.88 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 34,842.10.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 16.40 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 10,288.90.
Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.30 per cent, followed by Infosys, HCL Tech, ONGC, M&M, TCS, IndusInd Bank and L&T.
On the other hand, ITC, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HUL and ICICI Bank were among the gainers, spurting up to 5.45 per cent.
“Following the F&O expiry, our markets were also volatile and undecided, finally ending with a negative bias for the day. This was also in sync with generally lacklustre global markets. Cautiousness was visible as the IMF revised their GDP growth outlook for India and the (coronavirus) infections continued to rise.
“Sectoral indices were also mixed with FMCG being the highest gainer. There seems to be some fatigue building into the markets and investors are advised to be cautious,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
BSE IT, teck, oil and gas, realty, energy and capital goods indices ended up to 1.55 per cent lower, while FMCG, healthcare, bankex and finance settled with gains.
Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices outperformed the benchmarks, rising up to 0.76 per cent.
Global markets were largely subdued as the rising number of COVID-19 cases offset the optimism over reopening of economies.
Bourses in Japan and Seoul ended up to 2.27 per cent lower, while those in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for public holidays.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in early deals.
The number of COVID-19 cases around the world has crossed 94.08 lakh and the death toll has reached 4.82 lakh.
India’s coronavirus case count stood at 4,73,105, with 14,894 fatalities.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.42 per cent to USD 40.14 per barrel.
On the currency front, the rupee provisionally settled 7 paise higher at 75.65 against the US dollar.
