Stock Market Falls For 2nd Day: Sensex Sheds 223 Points, Nifty Ends Below 18,600. Capital Goods Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, SBI, HUL, Infosys, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, ITC, were the prime laggards

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, closed in the negative for second consecutive day on broad-based selling. The S&P BSE Sensex declined 223 points to 62,625. On the other hand, the Nifty50 shut shop at 18,563, down 71 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, SBI, HUL, Infosys, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, ITC, were the prime laggards. Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Life, Divis Labs, Eicher Motors, UPL, and ONGC were additional losers on the Nifty50. On the upside, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, L&T, PowerGrid, UltraCemco, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance were among the gainers.

Among specific stocks, shares of HAL rose 3 per cent to hit a new high of Rs 3,630 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade after the company said it will consider a stock split.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices, ended flat with a positive bias.

Among sectors, capital goods rose 1 per cent, while FMCG, PSU Bank, Information Technology, metal and oil & gas down 0.5-1 per cent.

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex plunged 294 points to 62,849 levels. On the other hand, Nifty50 settled at 18,635, down 92 points.

"Most Asian stocks rose on Friday, as weak US labour data ramped up bets on a pause in the US Fed’s rate hike cycle, although disappointing inflation readings from China capped broader gains. European stocks slipped at the open on Friday as traders were cautious ahead of the policy meetings of key central banks next week," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading in the negative zone. The US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.38 per cent to $76.25 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 212.40 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Inflow in equity mutual funds halved to Rs 3,240 crore in May, declining for the second consecutive month, primarily due to profit booking by investors amid a rising market.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 4 paise to close at 82.47 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday amid foreign fund inflows. Forex traders said a strong dollar overseas and weak sentiment in domestic equities capped the gains in the domestic currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.49 against the dollar and finally settled at 82.47 (provisional), up 4 paise from its previous close. During the session, it touched a peak of 82.41 and a low of 82.50 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 82.51 against the dollar.