Sensex opened on a choppy note on Friday as profit-booking emerged at fresh highs in early trade amid persistent foreign fund inflows.
After opening at its lifetime intra-day high of 47,026.02, the 30-share BSE index pared the gains to trade 141.30 points or 0.30 per cent lower at 46,749.04.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 44.90 points or 0.33 per cent to 13,695.80. It hit a high of 13,713.55 in early trade. It touched an intra-day high of 13,771.45.
ONGC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank.
On the other hand, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Nestle India and Bajaj Auto were among the gainers.
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys touched new 52-week high on NSE on Friday after Accenture Plc announced its first quarter earnings for financial year 2021 (August ending). Post results, Accenture’s shares rose by about 7% in the US on Thursday. The company has revised its revenue growth guidance for FY21 upwards to 4-6% from 2-5% indicated at the time of announcing Q4FY20 results.
Meanwhile More companies in India are expected to line up their initial share sales in 2021, seeking to tap booming investor demand amid a rush of foreign liquidity and stronger-than-expected recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy.
According to industry experts, handsome returns reaped by investors, especially in the retail segment, will likely encourage them to look for more IPO bets next year. Indian firms raised about ₹26,000 crore via share sales this year, more than double that of last year.
Gold and silver prices fell today on some profit-taking. On MCX, February gold futures dipped 0.24% to ₹50,270 per 10 gram, snapping a three-day gain, while silver rates declined 0.6% to ₹67,882 per kg.
Sector-wise, the BSE finance, capital goods, realty, bankex, industrials, energy and health care indices rose up to 1.01 per cent, while metal, oil and gas, utilities, FMCG, and auto lost as much as 1.42 per cent.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap fell up to 0.23 per cent.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended with gains, while Seoul was in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also largely trading on a positive note.
The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.51 per cent to $51.34 per barrel
