The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes came off intraday lows to end on a flat on Friday as losses in banking heavyweights like ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were offset with gains in Reliance Industries, which rose to a new record high for sixth day in a row. Earlier in the day, Sensex fell as much as 392 points and Nifty briefly dropped below 11,100. However, a record-breaking rally in Reliance Industries contributed over 250 points towards which helped in flat closing for markets.
The Sensex ended 12 points lower at 38,129 and Nifty 50 index declined 21 points to settle at 11,194.
A record single-day jump of 49,310 new coronavirus patients registered in the last 24 hours has taken India's COVID-19 tally to 12.87 lakh cases, the Union Health Ministry said this morning. More than 30,000 deaths linked to one of the most infectious illnesses known to the world in the recent decades have been reported in India. In the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry recorded 740 coronavirus-linked deaths.
All the 11 sector gauges, barring the index of information technology companies, compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty Bank and Metal indexes nearly 2 per cent declines. Nifty Private Bank, PSU Bank, Realty, Pharma, Media and Auto indexes also fell over a per cent each.
Mid- and small-cap shares ended mixed as Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 0.3 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 0.22 per cent.
Zee Entertainment was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 5 per cent to close at Rs 151. Hindalco, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, GAIL India, Grasim Industries, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, Bharti Infratel and Tata Motors also declined between 2.3-3.5 per cent each.
On the flipside, Reliance Industries was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose for sixth day in a row on Friday to hit a new record high. Reliance Industries stock price rose nearly 4.5 per cent intraday to hit a new all-time high of Rs 2,163 on the BSE. With the surge in share price or Reliance Industries, the company remains the most valued company in the country and is the first entity in India to have crossed market capitalization of Rs 13.50 lakh crore.
HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Wipro, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever and Eicher Motors were also among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,584 shares closed lower while 1,067 ended higher on the BSE.
