Sensex sheds 255 points; bank, capital goods slip

Mumbai  :  A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets closed Thursday’s trade 255 points down, as bank, capital goods and healthcare stocks fell.

Market sentiment was bearish on global cues and lower-than-expected earning results of some blue chip companies.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,478.67 points, ended the day at 20,193.35 points – down 255.14 points or 1.25 percent from its previous day’s close at 20,448.49 points.

The Sensex hit a high of 20,503.86 points and low of 20,16.67 points intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 82.90 points or 1.36 percent higher at 6,001.10 points.

All sectoral indices of the BSE closed in the red. Bank, capital goods, healthcare, metal and oil and gas scrips ended in the negative territory.

The BSE bank index went down 249.11 points, while the capital goods index lost 197.66. The healthcare index fell 168.13 points, while the metal index was down 166.17 points, and oil and gas index was lower by 155.11 points.

The prominent Sensex gainers were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) up 1.42 percent at Rs.2,133.75; Mahindra and Mahindra, up 1.16 percent at Rs.906.65; Sesa Sterlite, up 0.69 percent at Rs.188.80; and Sun Pharma, up 0.60 percent at Rs.614.70.

The major losers included Cipla, down 7.07 percent at Rs.381; BHEL, down 3.50 percent at Rs.151.75; Coal India, down 3.39 percent at Rs.260.75; ONGC, down 3.29 percent at Rs.273.40; and Hindalco Inds, down 3.19 percent at Rs.100.20.

Among the Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.79 percent down, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.54 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained by 0.55 percent.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.72 percent down. Germany’s DAX Index was lower by 0.33 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index was down 0.53 percent.

Photo  : AFP