Sensex snaps 5-day rally; ekes out weekly gain

PTI

Mumbai, August 19

BSE benchmark Sensex nursed losses on Friday as investors pocketed gains after a five-session winning streak amid a bearish trend overseas. A depreciating rupee and foreign fund outflows further soured risk sentiment, traders said.

The index, which had started the trade on a firm note, soon gave up all the gains and finally ended 651.85 points lower at 59,646.15. The NSE Nifty snapped its eight-day rally to close at 17,758.45, down 198.05 points or 1.10%.

IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, dropping 3.82%, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, SBI, NTPC, Maruti, Reliance Industries and HUL. Only three counters managed to close in the green — Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and TCS — climbing up to 2.20%.

“Profit-booking amid weak global cues impacted domestic indices as concerns about interest rate hikes hung over the markets,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

“The recent rally of the dollar index and FIIs turning net sellers has surprised bulls. Broad-based selling was witnessed with the index heavyweights dragging the index further down,” he added.

#Mumbai #Sensex