Sensex declines 317 points on weak global markets

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed down by half a per cent on Friday following losses in IT and banking shares amid overall weak global market trends.

The BSE Sensex declined 316.94 points or 0.52 per cent to settle at 61,002.57. During the day, it fell 508.84 points or 0.82 per cent to 60,810.67.

The NSE Nifty went lower by 91.65 points or 0.51 per cent to end at 17,944.20.

Nestle, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the major laggards in the Sensex pack.

Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, NTPC and Reliance were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China ended lower.

European markets were trading in negative territory. The US markets had ended sharply lower on Thursday.

"Lack of major triggers in the domestic market is attracting global cues to dictate the market trend. The US market is facing an unfavourable combination of higher-than-expected inflation and a stronger job market.

"The PPI (Producer Price Index) in the US came in at 6.0%, in contrast to the expectation of 5.4%. This suggests that interest rates have not yet peaked and will remain elevated for a long period," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.74 per cent to USD 83.66 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 1,570.62 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.