Indices end a tad lower; Sensex slips 31 points amid weak global cues

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 30.81 points (0.05 per cent) to end at 58,191.29 while the Nifty 50 declined 17.15 points (0.10 per cent) to settle at 17,314.65. Both the indices had opened lower earlier in the day and slipped as much as 0.66 per cent with the Sensex touching a low of 57,851.15 and the broader Nifty dipping to 17,216.95.

On the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bajaj Finance and ITC were the top losers of the day while Titan Company, Power Grid Corporation of India , IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki India and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers.

Among sectors, Nifty IT index fell 0.70 per cent, Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.72 per cent and Nifty FMCG slipped 0.64 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Consumer Durables rose 1.32 per cent and Nifty Media inched 0.38 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 39.28 points (0.15 per cent) to end at 25,384.80 while the S&P BSE SmallCap rose 86.77 points (0.30 per cent) to settle at 29,182.93.

Global Markets (from Reuters)

Stocks eased on Friday as Federal Reserve officials talked up the likelihood of more hefty US interest rate hikes, though battered Credit Suisse Group rose after announcing a $3 billion bond buyback to steady investors nerves.

Worries about the global economy deepened after chipmakers Samsung and AMD flagged a slump in demand, blaming inflation, higher interest rates and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. European chipmakers Infineon, STMicroelectronics and ASML fell in tandem.

In Europe, the STOXX index of 600 leading companies was down 0.2 per cent, but still heading for its largest weekly gain since late July. It’s down about 19 per cent for the year.

The MSCI All Country stock index fell 0.3 per cent, leaving it down about 24 per cent for the year so far.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.7 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2 per cent, weighed partly by a decline in Samsung shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 1.4 per cent lower, with its tech stocks tumbling 3 per cent. Mainland Chinese shares remain closed for the final day of the Golden Week holiday.