Sensex ends 407 points lower, Yes Bank and Maruti top losers

Equity benchmark indices on Friday failed to carry forward yesterday's momentum and extended losses in the last hour of the trading session amid profit booking.

Investors took cues from weak Asian markets amid continued foreign fund outflow and a depreciating rupee. The BSE S & P Sensex closed 407 points or 1.03 per cent lower at 39,194 while the Nifty 50 was down 108 points at 11,724.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), all sectoral indices except for PSU bank were in the red. Nifty pharma dipped 1.46 per cent, media by 1.41 per cent and auto by 1.22 per cent.

Among stocks, Sobha Ltd plunged 7.4 per cent to Rs 520.30 after reports that more than four per cent total equity of the real estate developer changed hands via block deals in early morning trade.

 

Shares of aviation companies traded under pressure after a crude price surge in global markets. SpiceJet closed 5.6 per cent lower at Rs 123.25 per scrip while InterGlobe Aviation slipped 1.3 per cent at Rs 1,562 apiece.

Aurobindo Pharma shares were down by 3.9 per cent to Rs 602.35 after the company received a warning letter from the US health regulator for its unit 11 active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing facility at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.

The other losers were Yes Bank which dived 4.5 per cent, Maruti by 2.9 per cent, HDFC 2.56 per cent, Hindustan Lever over 2 per cent and Hero MotorCorp by nearly two per cent.

However, Jet Airways swung in a wide range of 116 per cent between high and low points after the National Company Law Tribunal admitted the ailing airline for insolvency proceedings a day earlier. It finally closed 13.2 per cent higher at Rs 72.45 per share.

Indiabulls Housing Finance also gained 1.7 per cent after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved its proposed merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank. Hindalco, Tech Mahindra and State Bank of India showed marginal gains.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mixed as investors embraced the decisive shift by central banks back to stimulus mode. Japanese, South Korean and Australian shares dipped while Hong Kong's benchmark fluctuated and Shanghai shares rose.