Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). | Photo source: REUTERS
Benchmark equity indices fell at the beginning of the session on Friday as a result of profit-taking after a record boost the previous day and the outflow of fresh foreign funds.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 206.18 points to 76,604.72. The NSE Nifty index fell 61.5 points to 23,337.40.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, the biggest laggards were Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, HCL Technologies, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services.
Titan, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever recorded the highest gains.
In Asian markets, Seoul recorded gains, while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong recorded declines.
Thursday’s stock markets in the US ended with mixed moods.
According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrew shares worth ₹ 3,033 crore on Thursday.
“The market is likely to be range-bound in the near future as there are no significant triggers ahead of the Budget,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Global price benchmark Brent crude fell 0.41% to $82.41 a barrel.
The BSE benchmark rose 538.89 points or 0.70 to touch its all-time high of 77,145.46 on Thursday. It later ended with a fresh record high of 76,810.90; an boost of 204.33 points, or 0.27%.
The Nifty index rose 75.95 points or 0.33% to hit a fresh closing high of 23,398.90. During the day, the benchmark rose 158.1 points, or 0.67%, to a record high of 23,481.05.
“Investors expect consolidation amid uncertainty ahead of India’s budget announcement and another interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
