Closing Bell: Sensex declines 460 points, Nifty holds 17,100 mark

On Friday, the key indices gave up early gains and closed the choppy trading session with losses

On Friday, the key indices gave up early gains and closed the choppy trading session with losses. After hitting the day's high of 17,377.65 in the morning trade, Nifty finished just above the 17,100 mark. On NSE, all sectoral indices closed in the negative territory, with media and oil & gas stocks losing the most. The stock of Shriram Transport Finance Business climbed 4.9 per cent to Rs 1,199.65 after the company reported a 43.87 per cent increase in standalone net profit. On Friday, the European markets rose across the board as good corporate profits boosted global stocks.   

On Thursday, the equity indices completed a turbulent trading session with significant gains. Hindustan Unilever rose 4.33 per cent to Rs 2,237 after reporting an 8.59 per cent increase in the revenue. Coromandel International surged 6.86 per cent after reporting an 85.94 per cent increase in the consolidated net profit. The stock of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) jumped 6.43 per cent after the refining firm reported a 329 per cent increase in its net profit. Indian Hotels Company inched higher by 4.83 per cent to Rs 247.25 after reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 57.93 crore for the fourth quarter. Persistent Systems soared 5.1 per cent after reporting a 13.9 per cent increase in the consolidated net profit.  

BSE Sensex closed on the red side, losing 460 points to end at the 57,060 mark. Sensex Midcap index also dipped 198 points to end the day at the 24,418 level. BSE Smallcap index slipped 166 points to close at 28,611 levels. The top stocks on BSE Sensex today were Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharmaceutical, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, and HDFC. However, stocks that saw a fall in prices were Axis Bank, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid Corporation of India, and State Bank of India.  

Nifty 50 fell by 142 points and closed at 17,102 levels. Likewise, Bank Nifty plunged 334 points to close the day at 36,088 levels. The top gaining stocks were HDFC Life Insurance, Tata Consumer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharmaceutical, and HDFC Bank. The stocks losing the most were Axis Bank, Coal India, Adani Ports, Wipro, and ONGC.  

The total stocks traded today were 3,477, out of which, 1,472 advanced and 1,862 stocks declined. There were 143 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 213 while 243 stocks hit their lower circuits today. The number of stocks that made a new 52-week high stood at 127 while 30 stocks hit a fresh 52-week low today.