Nifty ends below 18,000; banking and realty stocks underperform

Nifty Bank slipped 1.20 per cent to end at levels of 41,131.75.

Post Market Update: After a volatile session, Nifty closed at 17,944.20, down by 0.51 per cent. Adani Enterprises, Nestle, IndusInd Bank and SBI Life Insurance were among the top losers. Nifty Bank slipped 1.20 per cent to end at levels of 41,131.75.

Nifty Infra was the best-performing sector on the bourses. Buying interest was significant in Shree Cements, L&T, BPCL, UltraTech Cement and Ambuja Cement. 

At close on BSE, about 1,504 stocks are advancing, as against 1,944 stocks that are declining, while 142 stocks remain unchanged. 

Market update at 11:10 AM: Nifty is trading at levels of 17988, down by 0.25 percent. Nifty Bank index is down by 335 points, trading at 41,295.65. AU Small Finance Bank, Bandhan Bank and Federal Bank are the top losers.  

Nifty Realty is the worst-performing sectoral index, down by 1.53 per cent. Indiabulls real estate, Oberoi Realty and Phoenix Mills are putting a drag on the index. PSU banks namely UCO Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Bank of Baroda are also underperforming broader markets. 

Market Update at 9:30 AM: Nifty kicked-off the last trading session of the week on a somber note. The index touched a low of 17,927.45 in early trade and staged a recovery to currently trade at levels of 17,985. 

UltraTech Cement, UPL, BPCL and Grasim Industries are among the top gainers. While Nestle, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Wipro are among the top losers. Majority of the Adani stocks are trading in green.

On BSE, about 1,498 stocks are advancing, as against 1,090 stocks that are declining, while 140 stocks remain unchanged.

Pre market update: US equity markets closed on a negative note on Thursday on account of hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials. All three headline indices i.e. Nasdaq, Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed in the red territory, down by more than 1 per cent each. 

Yesterday, Nifty 50 slipped in the second half of the trading session to close at levels of 18,035, up by 0.11 per cent. The index has recorded a 3-day gaining streak. Nifty Bank index recorded losses of 0.24 per cent to end at 41,631. While Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices outperformed broader markets. 

Data showed that FIIs and DIIs were net buyers worth Rs 1,570.62 crore and Rs 1,577.27 crore, respectively on Thursday. 

At 8:24 AM, SGX Nifty is trading at 17,696 down by 0.54 per cent indicating a negative start for indices today.