Markets succumb to last hour stock selling as Sensex falls 67 points, Nifty below 15,780

Mumbai: The Sensex and Nifty closed modestly lower on Friday after investors offloaded banking, finance and metal stocks in the last hour of trade amid sluggish global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 66.23 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 52,586.84, while the broader NSE Nifty dipped 15.40 points or 0.10 per cent to 15,763.05.

The market remained range-bound for the most part of the session as investors kept their exposure lower due to weak global cues, traders said.

The selling pressure was witnessed towards the fag-end when European markets opened in the negative zone, they added.

Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.59 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Tata Steel, Titan, Asian Paints and Axis Bank. On the other hand, Sun Pharma topped the winners chart with a leap of 10.06 per cent after the drug major reported a net profit of Rs 1,444.17 crore for the June quarter, compared to a net loss of Rs 1,655.60 crore in the year-ago period.

Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, M&M and NTPC were among the other gainers, spurting up to 7.24 per cent. On a weekly basis, the Sensex fell 388.96 points or 0.73 per cent, while the Nifty shed 93 points or 0.58 per cent.

Sector-wise, the BSE metal, energy, bankex, oil & gas and capital goods indices slumped as much as 1 per cent, while healthcare, utilities, auto and consumer durables notched up gains.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices climbed up to 0.69 per cent.

The rupee fell 13 paise to close at 74.42 against the US dollar.