Markets end lower for fourth straight session; HDFC twins, ICICI Bank top drags

Indian benchmark equity indices settled lower for the fourth straight session on Friday tracking losses in index heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and TCS. The BSE Sensex ended 360.78 points or 0.61% lower at 58,765.58, while the NSE Nifty declined 86.10 points or 0.49% to 17,532.05. Bajaj Finserv, shedding over 3%, was the Sensex loser followed by Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and HDFC. M&M, Dr Reddy’s, UltraTech Cement and PowerGrid were among the gainers. Most sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. Selling pressure was seen across financials, IT and realty counters, while buying was seen in pharma, metals and PSU banks, he noted. Nifty Pharma, closing 0.84% higher, was the top sectoral gainer followed by Nifty Media, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal. On the other hand, Nifty Realty slumped 1.5%, Nifty Financial Services lost nearly 1% and Nifty IT retreated 0.7%. Overall, market breadth was positive as 1,809 stocks advanced on the BSE, while 1,420 declined and 179 were unchanged. In Asia, stock exchanges in Tokyo and Seoul ended with losses. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed on account of a public holiday.