New Delhi: The key equity benchmarks snapped their three-day winning run led by losses in banking and auto stocks amid Omicron fear on Friday.
The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 191 points (0.33 per cent) to close at 57,124, and the broader NSE Nifty moved 69 points (0.40 per cent) down to settle at 17,004. Both the domestic indices traded on a highly volatile note as a continued global surge in the Omicron cases kept investors on the edge.
Mid- and small-cap shares finished lower as Nifty Midcap 100 index plunged 1.05 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index cracked 0.52 per cent.
NTPC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by M&M, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Finserv, and HDFC.
HCL Technologies was the top gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks. It gained 3 per cent at 1,265 on the back of heavy volumes amid buzz that the promoters were supposed to buyback shares from the open market at a 5 per cent premium
Other prominent gainers were Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro, and Infosys.
“A range-bound day of trading ahead of Christmas ended the week as this month quite clearly belonged to the IT sector which stood tall amidst extreme volatility as cost-push inflation across sectors is keeping street worried on the impact in the hands of the consumer,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
While buoyancy in exports and tax collections coupled with the success of the PLI schemes are positives, there are many sectors where consolidation is waiting to happen which is where longer term investors need to focus on in the present corrective phase, he noted.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai and Tokyo were in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.10 per cent to $76.52 per barrel.