Mumbai, Sept. 18 -- Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended mixed on Friday as a drop in crude oil prices was overshadowed by weakness in IT stocks and Tata Group counters.
Giving up intraday gains during the Closing Auction Session (CAS), the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 19.63 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,294.96. During the day, it surged 413.85 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 74,728.44.
The 50-share NSE Nifty closed higher by 75.80 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 23,346.40, marking its third straight session of gains.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services tanked 4.33 per cent, Titan 2.11 per cent, Asian Paints 2 per cent, Maruti 1.98 per cent, Tech Mahindra 1.82 per cent and Tata Steel 1.73 per cent.
Adani Ports, Power Grid, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the major winners.
Broader markets, however, advanced with the BSE SmallCap Select index jumping by 1.56 per cent and MidCap Select index climbing 0.79 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, Focused IT declined 1.44 per cent, IT 1.34 per cent, Consumer Durables 1.27 per cent and FMCG 0.52 per cent. Services climbed 1.73 per cent, Industrials jumped 1.70 per cent, Capital Goods 1.56 per cent, Housing Finance 1.48 per cent, Power 1.32 per cent, Utilities 1.15 per cent and Oil & Gas 0.91 per cent.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark dropped 486.8 points, or 0.65 per cent, and the Nifty dipped 51.7 points, or 0.22 per cent.
Reversing its early gains, the rupee closed lower by 7 paise at 95.96 against the US dollar on Friday amid a strong American currency and high crude oil prices.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.35 per cent to $103.4 per barrel.
FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 3,208.76 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the Sensex dipped 21.86 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,314.59. The Nifty ended marginally up 53 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 23,270.60.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.