Equity indices continue losing streak for 3rd straight day amid selling in Banking & IT

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined for a third straight day on Friday due to profit taking in consumer durables, FMCG, banking and IT shares amid lingering worries over commodity prices, interest rate hike and geopolitical tensions.

The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 233.48 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 57,362.20. During the day, it tanked 495.44 points to 57,100.24. The broader NSE Nifty declined 69.75 points or 0.40 per cent to settle at 17,153.

The equity indices closed the week lower after two straight weeks of gains. Sensex fell by 501 points while Nifty closed the week lower by 134 points.

From the 30-share pack, Titan fell the most by 3.59 per cent, Tech Mahindra by 2.35 per cent, Maruti Suzuki India by 1.79 per cent, and Wipro by 1.18 per cent.

Among major index downers, HDFC Bank declined 0.76 per cent, TCS by 1.12 per cent, and Infosys by 0.55 per cent.

ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel and ITC also dropped.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy's continued its steller run, rising by 0.77 per cent. Asian Paints rose 0.76 per cent, and Reliance Industries by 0.73 per cent. Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank also advanced.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap dipped 0.36 per cent and smallcap gauge declined 0.33 per cent.

A total of 2,078 declined, while 1,329 advanced and 103 remained unchanged.

Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables declined the most by 2.28 per cent, followed by capital goods (0.95 per cent), FMCG (0.72 per cent) and Information Technology (0.68 per cent).

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.44 per cent to $117.32 per barrel. The rupee rose further by 9 paise to close at 76.24 against the US dollar on Friday following a fall in crude oil prices and weakness in the American currency in the overseas markets.