A day after Fed-fuelled rally, stocks slipped back into the red on Friday, with the Sensex falling 105 points to 28,668.22, dragged down by investors booking profit in recent gainers, like banking stocks, amid weak global cues.
However, for the week, equities posted their third weekly gain in four as the Sensex and Nifty gained 69.19 points or 0.24 per cent and 51.70 points or 0.58 per cent, respectively.
Banking stocks, which had witnessed heavy buying on Thursday came down sharply, as investors cut down their exposure. Private sector lender Axis Bank was the biggest loser on the day, plunging 5.84 per cent to Rs 557.40, while ICICI Bank lost 1.36 per cent to Rs 271.80 and State Bank of India fell 1.15 per cent to Rs 254.40.
Shares of L&T Technology Services, an arm of engineering giant Larsen and Toubro, made a decent debut on the bourses and ended 0.59 per cent higher at 865.10 over the issue of price of Rs 860. Intra-day, it touched a high of Rs 931.
"With key event risks of FOMC-BoJ behind, derivatives' unwinding was seen in markets, especially with F&O expiry falling next week," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. After opening a shade higher at 28,810.32, the 30-share Sensex touched a high of 28,825.09, but slipped later to 28,627.38 before ending down 104.91 points or 0.36 per cent at 28,668.22. The index had risen 265.71 points yesterday, tracking upbeat global cues after the US Federal Reserve left rates unchanged. The NSE Nifty after moving between 8,885.20 and 8,820.30, settled 35.90 points or 0.40 per cent lower at 8,831.55.
