Sensex declines 466 pts on profit-taking in pvt banking, metal shares; Nifty ends below 25,750

Mumbai, Oct 31 (PTI) Declining for the second consecutive day, benchmark Sensex retreated by nearly 466 points on Friday following selling in private banks, metal and power shares and a weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 465.75 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 83,938.71 as 25 of its constituents fell and five advanced. During the day, it dropped 498.8 points or 0.59 per cent to 83,905.66.

The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 155.75 points or 0.60 per cent to 25,722.10.

Foreign fund outflows, mixed corporate earnings and the lack of clarity on the US Federal Reserve's future rate action continued to hurt investor sentiment, analysts said.

From the Sensex firms, Eternal, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Trent and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards.

However, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC and State Bank of India were the gainers.

"Indian equities ended decisively lower after a volatile session, as investors booked profits amid mixed corporate earnings and cautious global sentiment in the backdrop of a strong greenback. Most sectors closed in the red, pressured by renewed FII selling which have turned cautious after (US Fed chairman) Powell’s hawkish statement and US-China trade development did not meet expectations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said.

The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.55 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.40 per cent.

Utilities tanked 1.28 per cent, followed by metal (1.15 per cent), power (1.03 per cent), services (0.91 per cent), commodities (0.90 per cent), consumer durables (0.70 per cent) and financial services (0.69 per cent).

Energy, industrials, capital goods and oil & gas were the gainers.

A total of 2,370 stocks declined while 1,784 advanced and 155 remained unchanged on the BSE.

"The session remained subdued amid continued global caution following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish tone. Additionally, the lack of sustained FII inflows further dampened sentiment," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking, said.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark dropped 273.17 points or 0.32 per cent, and the Nifty dipped 73.05 points or 0.28 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled in positive territory, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower.

Markets in Europe were trading in the red. US markets ended in negative territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,077.59 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, were the buyers, as they bought equities worth Rs 2,469.34 crore in the previous trade.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.31 per cent to USD 64.80 a barrel.

On Thursday, the Sensex tanked 592.67 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 84,404.46. The Nifty tumbled 176.05 points or 0.68 per cent to 25,877.85. PTI SUM MR MR