Extending its slide for the second consecutive day, the domestic equity market ended with nearly half a per cent loss on Friday, mainly dragged by information technology (IT) shares. Besides, uncertainty on US-China trade deal talks, too, hurt sentiment.
The S&P BSE Sensex lost 216 points or 0.53 per cent to end at 40,359 levels. During the day, the index hit a high and low of 40,653.17 and 40,276.83, respectively. Tata Steel (up over 4 per cent) was the top gainer on the index while IT major Infosys (down around 3 per cent) was the biggest loser.
On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index ended at 11,914, down 54 points or 0.45 per cent with 29 constituents declining and 21 advancing.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 index ended flat at 16,868, up just 5 points or 0.03 per cent while Nifty Small Cap 100 index ended at 5,702, down over 4 points or 0.08 per cent.
India VIX declined over a per cent to 14.82 levels.
Sectorally, IT stocks declined the most with the Nifty IT index ending 2 per cent lower at 14,996 after reports said Goldman Sachs has downgraded counters such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, and Mphasis. The brokerage, as per reports, noted that the IT sector, as a whole, will face cyclical hiccup ahead and the current valuation of the sector is at premium to historical average.
READ MORE Financial and FMCG stocks, too, ended in the negative territory. On the flip side, metal stocks witnessed sharp rally in the fag-end of the session. Nifty Metal index added over 2 per cent to 2,521 levels.
BUZZING STOCKS
Eicher Motors gained nearly 4 per cent to Rs 22,786 on the BSE, its highest level in the last eight months.
Shares of Essel Propack advanced 6 per cent on the BSE to hit a record high level of Rs 164. The container & packaging company's stock has rallied 41 per cent in the past two weeks after reporting a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended September 2019 (Q2FY20). Shares of the company ended at Rs 154.65 apiece on the BSE.
Network18 Media & Investments rallied 15.50 per cent to Rs 32 on the BSE, thereby surging over 24 per cent in the past two trading days on media reports that Sony was eyeing up to 30 per cent stake in Mukesh Ambani's media and entertainment company.
GLOBAL MARKETS
A broad gauge of Asian equities made a slight recovery on Friday from three-week lows hit the previous day, with gains limited by investors’ uncertainty over chances of China and the United States striking a preliminary deal soon to end their trade war. Chinese blue-chip shares, which had opened higher, turned negative, and were last down 0.68 per cent. Australian shares gained 0.55 per cent and Japan's Nikkei was up 0.46 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 per cent.
In early European trades, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.14 per cent at 3,687, German DAX futures were up 0.15 per cent at 13,178, and FTSE futures were up 0.35 per cent at 7,255. US S&P 500 e-mini futures ESc1, were 0.16 per cent higher at 3,109.
In commodities, oil prices were toppled from their highest in nearly two months by doubts over future demand for crude as uncertainty continues to shroud a potential US-China trade deal, and along with it the health of the global economy.
(With inputs from Reuters)
 "MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 216 pts as IT shares plunge; Nifty ends at 11,914")
