Closing Bell: Bearish tone engulfs the market on February 4

Benchmark indices ended a volatile trading session with tiny losses on Friday.

Benchmark indices ended a volatile trading session with tiny losses on Friday. The Nifty closed a tad above the 17,500 marks. Barring metal and FMCG stocks, selling pressure was seen across the board. Metal stocks were in a super rally despite a bearish tone in broader markets on Friday as the Budget outcomes frenzy faded and focus shifted on major corporate earnings.

The BSE Sensex ended the day in red today after a small fall of 143 points and closed at 58,644.82, down by 0.24 per cent. The Sensex MidCap index fell by 169 points and ended the day at 24,750.61 levels. Similarly, the BSE SmallCap is also down by 135 points and stood at 29,702.58 at day end.

The Nifty 50 index also sank by 43 points and closed at 17,516.30. Bank Nifty has ended down by 220 points and ended at 38,789.35.

The top gainers on the BSE Sensex exchange were Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, and HDFC Bank. On the flipside, the top losers were Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Kotak Bank, NTPC, and Mahindra & Mahindra. The total stocks traded today were 3,432 out of which 1,592 advanced and 1,747 stocks declined, 93 stocks were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit is 436 and the number of stocks that were locked in the lower circuit today was 173. The number of stocks that have made 52-week high is 175 and 10 stocks made a 52-week low today.