Sensex, Nifty pare early gains to close close lower; financials, oil stocks fall

PTI, Jan 16, 2023, 4:13 PM IST

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Mumbai: Benchmark equity index Sensex and Nifty gave up early gains and ended lower on Monday as investor sentiment was hit due to unabated foreign fund outflows and losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 168.21 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 60,092.97 as 15 of its constituents dropped. The barometer opened higher and touched a high of 60,586.77 in morning session. Later in the day, it fell 297.35 points or 0.49 per cent to 59,963.83.

The broader NSE Nifty dipped 61.75 points or 0.34 per cent to end at 17,894.85.

From the Sensex pack, Axis Bank, NTPC, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Maruti were among the major laggards.

Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Power Grid were among the major winners.

Wipro ended over 1 per cent higher after announcing its December quarter earnings post trading hours on Friday.

Wipro on Friday reported a better-than-expected 2.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for December 2022 quarter to Rs 3,053 crore and exuded optimism about ”strong” bookings for the fourth quarter despite global headwinds.

Shares of HDFC Bank declined nearly 1 per cent even as the firm reported 19.9 per cent jump in its net profit for the third quarter ended December 2022.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green, while Tokyo settled lower.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading mixed in mid-session deals. Markets in the US had ended in the positive territory on Friday.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price-based inflation declined to a 22-month low of 4.95 per cent in December 2022, mainly due to fall in prices of food articles, especially vegetables, and oilseeds.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.54 per cent to USD 84.82 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 2,422.39 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.