Sensex Erases Early Gains, Slips 49 Points, Nifty Ends Below 16,600; Auto, Bank Stocks Drag

Indian equity benchmarks on Friday finished in the red as losses in automobile and banking stocks offset gains in technology and index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL). The domestic indices plunged into the negative zone during late deals amid profit-booking, erasing all of their early gains. The equity benchmarks had turned positive yesterday, snapping a two-day losing run.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 49 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 55,769 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 44 points or 0.26 per cent down to settle at 16,584. Sensex swung in a band of 713 points during today's session.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a weak note as Nifty Midcap 100 plunged 1.64 per cent and small-cap slipped 0.86 per cent higher.

13 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto, Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Bank underperformed the platform by falling as much as 1.82 per cent, 1.47 per cent and 0.95 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Grasim Industries was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 6.53 per cent to Rs 1,339. UltraTech Cement, Shree Cement, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti were also among the laggards.

The overall market breadth stood negative as 1,379 shares advanced while 1,954 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, NTPC, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Nestle India, SBI, ICICI Bank and Titan were among the top losers.

Also, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, fell 0.69 per cent to settle at Rs 800.25.

In contrast, Reliance Industries, Infosys, L&T, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and Dr Reddy's finished in the green.