Sensex, Nifty end flat on negative global cues; post weekly gains

Mumbai, August 7

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Friday as negative cues from global markets and spiking COVID-19 cases in the country kept investors on the edge.

After touching a low of 37,787.38 during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex clawed back lost ground to end 15.12 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 38,040.57.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose 13.90 points or 0.12 per cent to finish at 11,214.05.

During the week, the Sensex advanced 433.68 points or 1.15 per cent, while the Nifty rose 140.60 points or 1.26 per cent.

Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Friday, spurting 4.44 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti.

On the other hand, Titan, HCL Tech, Infosys, M&M and Sun Pharma were among the laggards, skidding up to 2.65 per cent.

Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday reported a 94 per cent decline in consolidated profit at Rs 54.64 crore for the June quarter, adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global markets tumbled after US President Donald Trump signed an order prohibiting American residents from transacting with Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok, ratcheting up US-China tensions.

China has vowed to retaliate against the executive order, which comes into force in 45 days.

According to traders, negative overseas cues and mounting COVID-19 cases in the country kept investors jittery.

Registering over 60,000 cases in 24 hours for the first time, India’s COVID-19 tally galloped past 20 lakh on Friday, while the number of recoveries surged to 13.78 lakh, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.9 crore.

“The unrelenting pace of virus infections and other uncertainties led to the benchmark indices ending flat today with volatile trades. Global cues were also mostly negative, after Asian markets ended in losses following US actions on popular Chinese apps, and anticipating retaliatory action from China.

“However on a weekly basis, Indian benchmark indices ended up by around 1 per cent, following gains in the latter half of this week, on expectations of RBI policy easing to support economic revival,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

BSE power, telecom, utilities, industrials and basic materials indices rose as much as 1.21 per cent, while consumer durables, IT, teck and healthcare closed with losses.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rallied up to 1.44 per cent.

In rest of Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended in the red, while Seoul finished with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a negative note in early deals.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.86 per cent lower at USD 44.70 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee ended almost flat at 74.93 against the US dollar. PTI