MUMBAI– Indian equity benchmarks snapped a three-day winning streak on Friday, closing lower as profit-taking in heavyweight IT and banking stocks weighed on sentiment. A sharp rally in Adani Group companies following a regulatory clean chit helped limit deeper losses.
The Sensex dropped 387.73 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 82,626.23. The index opened at 82,946.04 against Thursday’s close of 83,013.96 and slipped further during the day, hitting an intraday low of 82,485.92. The Nifty 50 declined 96.55 points, or 0.38 percent, to settle at 25,327.05.
Adani Group stocks extended their gains after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cleared the conglomerate of allegations made by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research. Adani Power surged 13.42 percent, Adani Total Gas climbed 7.55 percent to Rs 652.80, Adani Enterprises advanced 5.25 percent to Rs 2,528, and Adani Ports & SEZ rose 1.15 percent to Rs 1,429.
By contrast, several blue-chip stocks dragged on the indexes. HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, PowerGrid, Ultratech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, ITC, and Trent were among the major losers on the Sensex. Gains came from Adani Ports, SBI, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, and Maruti Suzuki.
Sectorally, most indexes ended in the red. Nifty Financial Services dropped 0.64 percent, Nifty Bank fell 0.48 percent, Nifty Auto declined 0.40 percent, Nifty FMCG dipped 0.44 percent, and Nifty IT slipped 0.47 percent.
The broader market held up relatively well, supported by small- and mid-cap stocks. Nifty Small Cap 100 edged up 0.15 percent, Nifty Midcap 100 gained 21 points, while Nifty 100 slipped 0.21 percent.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee ended slightly stronger at 88.10 per dollar, compared with Thursday’s close of 88.13. (Source: IANS)
