Share Market: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Friday in largely muted trade ahead of weak global markets and country’s most valuable firm Reliance Industries’ quarterly earnings.
In volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 59,655.06, up 22.71 points or 0.04 per cent. It touched a high of 59,781.36 and a low of 59,412.81 in the day’s trade.
The broader NSE Nifty ended at 17,624.05, showing a marginal decline of 0.40 points.
ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the gainers among the Sensex firms.
Read also: Sensex, Nifty fall for second day on profit-booking in oil, banking stocks
HCL Technologies Rises
HCL Technologies climbed 1 per cent to Rs 3,983 crore as the company on Thursday reported a 10.85 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter of 2022-23.
Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were among the laggards. Seoul, Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong closed with losses in Asian markets. European markets were trading on a mixed note. US markets closed in the negative zone on Thursday.
Indian equities highly volatile
“Increasing uncertainty in both global and domestic markets has kept Indian equities highly volatile. Weak signals from a soft job market and deceleration in manufacturing activity in the US have fueled fears of a possible recession. Despite the unanimous decision of the RBI MPC to keep rates unchanged For, its minutes revealed that its members continue to worry about high inflation.
“However, the market got some support from IT and FMCG sectors on closing bell, which facilitated its recovery,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.04 per cent to USD 81.07 per barrel. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,169.32 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.