New Delhi, 14 August (H.S.):

Domestic equity markets ended lower on Friday after remaining under pressure for most of the trading session. The market opened on a weak note and remained under sustained pressure until around 2 p.m. Thereafter, buying interest emerged, helping both the Sensex and Nifty recover substantially from their intraday lows. However, persistent negative sentiment prevented the Sensex from moving into positive territory. At the close, the Sensex declined 0.09 per cent, while the Nifty fell 0.12 per cent.

The BSE Sensex opened 176.53 points, or 0.23 per cent, lower at 77,903.43. Selling pressure intensified soon after the opening bell, pushing the index further down. Continued selling dragged the Sensex 395.59 points, or 0.51 per cent, lower to an intraday low of 77,684.37.

Around 1:30 p.m., buying interest emerged, leading to a gradual recovery in the index. Supported by sustained buying, the Sensex recovered 364.54 points from its intraday low within the next half hour and climbed to 78,048.91. However, selling resumed thereafter, pulling the index down from its intraday high. The Sensex eventually closed 70.71 points lower at 78,009.25.

The NSE Nifty also opened on a weak note, declining 33.95 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 24,361.90. Selling pressure immediately after the opening caused the index to extend its losses. Persistent selling dragged the Nifty down 99.05 points, or 0.41 per cent, to an intraday low of 24,296.80.

Buying activity picked up during the second half of the session, helping the index recover. Supported by continued purchases, the Nifty rebounded 108.40 points from its intraday low and briefly moved into positive territory, gaining 9.35 points, or 0.04 per cent, to reach 24,405.20. However, the recovery failed to hold for long. Selling resumed shortly thereafter, and the Nifty slipped nearly 40 points from its intraday high before closing 29.85 points, or 0.12 per cent, lower at 24,366.

During the day, buying interest was seen in Consumer Durables and Media stocks. The Capital Goods and Technology indices also ended in positive territory. In contrast, Auto, Energy and FMCG stocks faced selling pressure. The IT, Metal, Pharmaceutical, Public Sector Enterprises and Realty indices also closed lower.

The broader market remained under selling pressure as well. The Nifty Midcap index declined 0.53 per cent, while the Smallcap index ended 0.69 per cent lower.

The decline in equities resulted in a sharp erosion in investors’ wealth. The market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE fell to Rs 492.17 lakh crore (provisional) at the end of Friday’s session, compared with Rs 494.14 lakh crore at the close of trading on Thursday. As a result, investors lost approximately Rs 1.97 lakh crore during Friday’s session.

A total of 3,038 stocks were actively traded on the NSE during the day. Of these, 1,260 stocks closed in positive territory, while 1,778 ended with losses. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, six stocks advanced, 23 declined and one remained unchanged. Of the 50 Nifty constituents, 11 closed higher and 39 ended lower.

Among the major stocks, Apollo Hospitals gained 3.73 per cent, Bharti Airtel rose 2.73 per cent, Adani Ports advanced 2.53 per cent, Adani Enterprises climbed 2.37 per cent and ICICI Bank gained 0.73 per cent, making them the top five gainers of the session.

On the other hand, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (TMPV) declined 4.32 per cent, Jio Financial fell 2.56 per cent, Asian Paints dropped 2.15 per cent, Hindalco Industries declined 1.60 per cent and ONGC slipped 1.46 per cent, emerging as the top five losers of the day.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar