The Sensex declined considerably in early trade on Friday. At 9.30 a.m., the S&P BSE Sensex traded at 57,650 points, down 0.4 per cent. It opened at 58,243 points from the previous close of 57,901 points. Till now it touched a low of 57,444 points.
Indian equity indices declined five out of past six sessions amid heavy sell-offs this week, continuing last week's decline attributed mainly to FII outflows due to the US rate policy.
On Friday morning, besides the Sensex, the broader 50-scrip Nifty at National Stock Exchange (NSE) too opened at 17,373 points after closing at 17,248 on Thursday. It traded at 17,158 points, down 0.5 per cent during the early-morning trade session.
Tata Motors, Titan, Container Corp, Adani Green, among others, were some of the top losers during the early trade, exchange data showed.
Thursday Roundup
India's key equity indices Sensex and Nifty settled on a positive note on Thursday after decline in four consecutive sessions since Friday as FII outflows continued.
On Thursday, the FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 8,908.04 crore on the BSE, the NSE and the MSEI in the capital market segment, against purchases worth Rs 7,439 crore, as per provisional data published by market regulator SEBI.
In the day's trade, equity markets opened marginally higher and remained in the green throughout the session.
On the domestic front, IT, consumer durable, and oil and gas indices rose the most, whereas pharma, PSU banks, realty indices, among others, declined the most.
Among stocks, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, BPCL, Wipro, Reliance Industries, among others, were some of the top gainers on Thursday. These stocks rose 2.89 per cent, 2.47 per cent, 1.96 per cent, 1.74 per cent, and 1.72 per cent, respectively.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 57,901 points, up 0.20 per cent from its previous close. The broader 50-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the day's trade at 17,248 points, up 0.16 per cent from its previous close.
"Domestic bourses closed flat with a mild positive bias despite an upbeat economic outlook by the US Fed. Domestic weakness was due to FII selling and moderation in retail activity," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
"The Fed chair announced their decision to double the pace of asset tapering by early 2022 rather than a mid-2022, paving way for three interest rate hikes, backed by a rapidly strengthening economy and employment gains amid inflation concerns. This is mostly in line with expectations taken positively by the rest of the world equity market"
Going forward, immediate support for Nifty is seen at 17,140-17,200 levels, and resistance at around 17,370-17,450 levels, said Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
(With inputs from IANS)
