The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended on a flat note in trade on Friday as investors awaited official release of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for second quarter of the current financial year due later today. The benchmarks for most part of the day traded in a range bound manner. The Sensex moved in a range of 412 points and Nifty touched an intraday high of 13,035.30 and low of 12,914.30. Gains in HDFC, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were offset with losses in Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS, Axis Bank and HCL Technologies.
The Sensex ended 110 points or 0.25 per cent lower at 44,150 and Nifty 50 index declined 18 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 12,969.
The country’s economic activity likely picked up in July-September after a record 23.9 per cent contraction the previous quarter. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink 8.8 per cent, a contraction that would still amount to a technical recession.
Fourteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by the BSE ended higher led by the S&P BSE Realty index’s nearly 3 per cent gain. Consumer durables, auto, utilities and healthcare stocks also witnessed buying interest.
On the other hand, information technology, telecom and energy shares faced selling pressure.
Mid- and small-cap shares outperformed their larger peers as the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 1.91 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap index climbed 2.4 per cent.
Tata Motors was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose nearly 3 per cent to close at Rs 179. Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, Divi’s Labs, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank also rose between 1-2 per cent.
On the flipside, Nestle India was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 4.35 per cent to settle at Rs 16,971. Power Grid, JSW Steel, Shree Cements, HCL Technologies, ONGC, HDFC Life, Hindalco, TCS, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the losers.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,768 stocks ended higher while 1,031 closed lower on the BSE.