Sensex declines 182 points following losses in IT, metal stocks & sluggish trends in Asian markets

Mumbai: Stock markets closed lower in a range-bound trade on Friday following losses in IT shares and sluggish trends in Asian markets due to trade uncertainty after a US appeals court temporarily reinstated reciprocal tariffs.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 182.01 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,451.01 as 24 of its constituents retreated and six advanced. During the day, it dropped 346.57 points or 0.42 per cent to 81,286.45.

The NSE Nifty dipped 82.90 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,750.70.

Metals, IT, and auto sector shares declined while banking shares gained. Investors were cautious ahead of the release of domestic GDP data post-market hours, analysts said.

Among Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra fell the most by 1.73 per cent. HCL Tech, Asian Paints, NTPC, Infosys, Nestle, Sun Pharma, and Tata Steel also closed lower. Eternal, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finserv were the gainers.

“A range-bound movement continued in the market, with the temporary reinstatement of US tariffs by the appeal court influencing investors to stay on the sideline. The global market may contend with macroeconomic concerns as the global trade landscape has yet to see stability, which may navigate a short-term consolidation.

“Meanwhile, FII inflows continued due to the volatility in the US 10-year yield and an expectation of solid domestic Q4 GDP data later today and a rate cut by RBI,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

“Markets languished in negative territory to end lower amid weak Asian cues as investors cut their position in IT, metal, oil & gas and auto shares,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.39 per cent while smallcap index went up by 0.17 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, metal dropped the most by 1.68 per cent, followed by BSE Focused IT (1.14 per cent), commodities (1.14 per cent), utilities (1.09 per cent), teck (0.99 per cent), auto (0.91 per cent) and telecom (0.79 per cent). Financial Services, bankex and capital goods were the gainers.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark declined 270.07 points or 0.33 per cent and the Nifty dipped 102.45 points or 0.41 per cent.

The rupee pared its initial gains to settle 7 paise lower at 85.55 against the US dollar on Friday, as volatility in domestic equities and recovering global crude prices pressured the local currency.

FIIs bought equities worth Rs 884.03 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought equities worth Rs 4,286.50 crore, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.44 per cent to $64.43 a barrel.