Closing Bell Sensex Drops 167 Points To Settle Just Above 37,000

The BSE Sensex ended 167 points lower after a highly volatile session on Thursday, dragged by losses in RIL, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, ITC and TCS ahead of key macroeconomic data releases.

After swinging 386 points during the day, the 30-share index settled 166.54 points, or 0.45 per cent, lower at 37,104.28. It hit an intra-day high of 37,435.15 and a low of 37,048.67.Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 52.90 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 10,982.80.

Top laggards in the Sensex pack included Yes Bank, Tata Motors, Maruti, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, RIL, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, ITC, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance and TCS, falling up to 5.10 per cent.On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins, SBI, Tech Mahindra and ONGC lost up to 2.13 per cent.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer ended 125.37 points, or 0.34 per cent, higher at 37,270.82. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 32.65 points, or 0.30 per cent, to finish at 11,035.70.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack on Wednesday included Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Vedanta, Sun Pharma, HDFC, SBI, M&M, Maruti and HCL Tech, rising up to 2.43 per cent.On the other hand, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Infosys and Axis Bank fell up to 2.72 per cent.

On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net of Rs 266.89 crore, and domestic institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 1,132.42 crore, provisional data showed.

Despite opening on a positive note, benchmark indices gave up all gains amid stock-specific sellfoff, traders said.Domestic investors turned cautious ahead of factory output and inflation data, they added.Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index and Nikkei settled in the green amid hopes of a resolution in the US-China trade conflict and expectations that the European Central Bank would kick off monetary easing.

Hang Seng, on the other hand, ended on a tad lower.Exchanges in Europe were trading higher in their respective early sessions. The Indian rupee appreciated by 34 paise (intra-day) to trade at 71.32 per US dollar. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1 per cent lower at USD 60.18 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)