Sensex, Nifty trade flat amid weak global trends

Posted on by

Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty traded flat in early trading on Friday due to profit-taking in financial and information technology stocks amid weak global indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened lower, dropping 294 points, to hit a low of 65,785.64 in early trade.

The BSE Index was trading at 65,767.85, down 17.79 points or 0.03 percent from the previous close, at 9.40 am.

The broader Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange rose marginally 1.25 points, or 0.01 percent, at 19,498.55. It moved between 19,499.55 and 19,421.60 in early trading.

Among Sensex stocks, Nestle, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, Infosys and Tech Mahindra all fell due to profit taking after a record high.

Titan, M&M, Maruti, Reliance, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Tata Steel were among the main gainers, providing support to the benchmark.

In global markets, stocks fell in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia after losses incurred overnight in US stocks as reports indicated that the labor market in the United States is still more resilient than expected.

As a strong labor market keeps the economy out of a long-feared recession, it may also prompt the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer in its campaign to defeat high inflation.

“This rally will be difficult to sustain as the global market structure is turning unfavorable with significant weakness in developed markets and rising bond yields,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment analyst at Geojit Financial Services.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.25 percent to $76.70 a barrel.

Challenging the weak trend in global markets, the Sensex rose 339.60 points, or 0.52 percent, to settle at an all-time closing high of 65,785.64 on Thursday. The NSE Nifty Index rose by 98.80 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at a record high of 19,497.30.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought shares worth Rs 2,641.05 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.