Sensex ends marginally lower at 39,741, Nifty settles inches up by 8 points

Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex ended marginally lower while the NSE Nifty closed a tad higher on Thursday amid mixed cues from domestic and global markets.

After plunging over 300 points during the day, the BSE gauge pared most losses to settle 15.45 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 39,741.36. The index hit an intra-day low of 39,461.27 and a high of 39,800.81.

The broader NSE Nifty inched up 7.85 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 11,914.05. During the day, the index touched a low of 11,817.05 and a high of 11,931.35. Yes Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack for the second consecutive session, plummeting 12.96 per cent, after Moody’s placed the private sector lender’s ratings under review for a possible downgrade.

IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Maruti, Vedanta, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, ONGC and RIL too fell up to 4.96 per cent. Top gainers included PowerGrid, M&M, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel and HDFC twins, rising up to 1.54 per cent. According to experts, market mood was subdued amid rising uncertainty over trade talks between the US and China.

Oil prices tumbled to five-month low on rising US stockpiles. Brent crude futures were hovering around $60.01 in early trade. According to experts, market mood was negative tracking weak cues from global markets amid rising uncertainty over trade talks between the US and China.

India’s industrial output grew to a six-month high of 3.4 per cent in April mainly on account of improvement in mining and power generation, while retail inflation spiked to a seven-month high of 3.05 per cent in May, though remaining within the RBI’s comfort level.

Elsewhere in Asia, while Shanghai Composite Index rose marginally, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi ended in the red. On the other hand, stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the green in early deals. On the currency front, the Indian rupee depreciated 16 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar intra-day.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rallied 3.54 per cent to USD 62.09 per barrel, amid conflicting reports of an attack and an accident involving two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

(With inputs from PTI)