MUMBAI: Global cues as well as continuous selling by FIIs subdued India's equity indices — S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 — on Friday. Accordingly, indices closed lower for the third consecutive session amidst uncertainties on the way ahead for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Besides, the FIIs were net sellers on BSE, NSE & MSEI in the capital market segment. They net sold Rs 2,529.96 crore worth of equities.
On Thursday, they had sold Rs 1,242.10 crore worth of equities. The market opened lower but soon began to rise till afternoon session only to cede gains later on during the day's trade. Globally, stocks vacillated between losses and gains on Friday as planned talks between Russia and the US over Ukraine alleviated some investor gloom about geopolitical risks. On the domestic front, volumes on the NSE were the lowest since April 2020.
Amongst sectoral indices, capital gains and banking indices gained the most whereas realty and oil and gas indices fell the most.
Consequently, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 57,832.97 points, down 0.10 per cent or 59.04 points, whereas NSE Nifty50 closed at 17,276.30 points, down 0.16 per cent or 28.30 points.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said: "22-month low volumes suggest that traders are unsure about the direction of the markets amidst number of triggers.
"While limited fall over three-days post a sharp recovery on February 15 suggests relative strength in the frontline indices, volumes may have to rise to generate more confidence for long traders."
According to Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services: "Equity markets have seen a rise in volatility in the last couple of days due to varying news flows coming in from the Ukraine border. (IANS)
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