The Indian equities ended lower in volatile trade on Friday, undermining firm cues from Asian peers, led by sharp sell-off in final hour of day’s trade with PSU bank index falling over 2 percent. In line with benchmark indices the broader markets ended lower, with MidCap and SmlCap indices falling 1.2 per cent each. Shares of Punjab National Bank continued losing streak for third session and slipped 2 per cent on the BSE amid persistent concerns over Rs 114 billion fraud detection. Shares of Gitanjali Gems eroded another 20 per cent after media report suggested that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches in properties linked to billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and company’s offices across India in PNB fraud case and seized diamond, gold, and jewellery worth Rs 51 billion.
The 30-share benchmark index closed at 34010.76, down by 286.71 points or by 0.84 per cent, and the NSE Nifty ended at 10452.3, down by 93.2 points or by 0.88 per cent.
During the day’s trade, the Sensex touched intraday high of 34508.24 and intraday low of 33957.33, while the NSE Nifty touched intraday high of 10612.9 and intraday low of 10434.05.
The top losers of the BSE Sensex pack were State Bank of India (Rs. 271.75,-2.55%), YES Bank Ltd. (Rs. 311.90,-2.52%), ICICI Bank Ltd. (Rs. 321.00,-2.31%), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (Rs. 8840.00,-2.00%), Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Rs. 420.00,-1.94%), among others.
On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (Rs. 1052.80,+1.14%), Infosys Ltd. (Rs. 1124.85,+0.96%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (Rs. 2212.75,+0.83%), Asian Paints Ltd. (Rs. 1145.00,+0.73%), Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (Rs. 2931.00,+0.18%), were among top gainers on BSE.
The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE out of total shares traded 3097, shares advanced were 790, while 2171 shares declined, and 136 were unchanged.
Among the thirteen sectoral indices, auto and metal stocks were among top losers on BSE, falling as much as 1.65 per cent and 1.58 per cent, respectively.