Markets end in red ahead of Q1 results
Indian stock markets ended in red on Friday as investors turned a cautious line before start of the earnings season next week amid muted overseas cues. Sensex slipped into reverse gear as it wiped off Thursday \'s paltry gains by closing 75 points lower.
Investors turn cautious amid muted global cues; Sensex sheds 75 points
Mumbai: Indian stock markets ended in red on Friday as investors turned a cautious line before start of the earnings season next week amid muted overseas cues. Sensex slipped into reverse gear as it wiped off Thursday 's paltry gains by closing 75 points lower. It was a weekly loss for the market too, with the Sensex and the Nifty losing 18.01 points (0.06 per cent) and 5.15 points (0.06 per cent), respectively.
The corporate earnings season is officially going to kick off from July 15, when Infosys is due to come out with its results. Asia remained weak as US payroll data, which essentially serve as a pointer to the health of the American economy and are scheduled to be released on Friday, added to the level of suspense.
Weighed down by fresh selling, the benchmark Sensex remained in a range-bound before ending lower by 74.59 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 27,126.90. The NSE Nifty closed down by 14.70 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 8,323.20. Telecom stocks took heavy blows as they fell by up to almost 4 per cent, hit by concerns that DoT will soon issue demand notice of over Rs 12,500 crore to six telecom operators amid allegations of under-reporting of revenue to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore.
Bharti Airtel plunged 2.28 per cent, Idea Cellular 2.86 per cent, Reliance Communications 3.15 per cent and Tata Teleservices 3.75 per cent. Among 30-Sensex constituents, as many as 16 lost while 14 gained. GAIL topped the losers list by falling 2.37 per cent to Rs 375.45, followed by Adani Ports 1.59 per cent to Rs 207.05. L&T, Coal India, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, RIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, M&M, ITC and TCS all lost by up to 1.43 per cent. In broader markets, the BSE small-cap index edged lower by 0.17 per cent while mid-cap gained 0.11 per cent.
The market breadth turned negative as 1,550 stocks finished lower, 1,160 stocks closed higher while 150 ruled steady. Asian indices ended lower. Japan's Nikkei slumped 1.11 per cent while Hong Kong Hang Seng edged lower by 0.69 per cent. Shanghai Composite was down 0.95 per cent. In early session, European stocks fell over the Brexit implications.
