Sensex falls for second day, Nifty below 11,950; IT stocks weigh

NEW DELHI: Extending losses for the second straight session, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty slipped on Friday dragged mainly by IT and telecom stocks as investors exercised caution and avoided long positions amid mixed global cues.

Analyst said that fall in IT stocks amid reports of changes in US work visa requirements aimed at protecting American workers fuelled the overall weakness in the market. Also, concerns over delay in US –China trade deal and Fed minutes fueled negativity in global markets.

Analysts said that market participants are waiting for fresh triggers on developments around the US-China trade deal and India’s July-September GDP data due next week. The GDP data which is due on 29 November is likely to indicate whether the slowdown in the Indian economy has deepened. Analysts expect markets to remain rangebound in coming days and feel midcap stocks may see more traction.

Meanwhile, NTPC was among the top gainers on BSE gaining nearly 4 per cent in trade after Morgan Stanley upgraded the power major to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equal-Weight’ with a target price of Rs 152.

Market at a glance
BSE Sensex fell 215.76 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 40,359.41, while NSE Nifty ended at 11,914.40, down 54 points or 0.45 per cent.

In the 30-pack Sensex, 12 stocks ended in the green and 18 in the red with Tata Steel finishing as best performer and Infosys the worst. NTPC, Vedanta, Power Grid and ONGC joined Tata Steel on the gainers’ list, gaining up to 4 per cent.

Asian Paints, TCS, HCL Tech and Bharti Airtel were among the Sensex stocks that declined.

The BSE Midcap index declined 0.14 per cent and the BSE Smallcap index fell 0.03 per cent, outperforming benchmark Sensex.

BSE IT index recorded 2.21 per cent loss on the sectoral return chart followed by Telecom, Capital Goods and Bankex indices. While BSE Metal index was the best performer.

In terms of index contribution, HDFC, RIL, ITC and NTPC were chart toppers while Infosys, HDFC Bank, TCS and Kotak Bank were the top drags on Sensex.

Global markets
On the global front, Asian shares made a slight recovery on Friday after hitting three-week lows on the previous day, with gains limited by investors' uncertainty over chances of US-China striking a preliminary deal soon to end their trade war.

European stocks too opened on a positive note in morning trade after a bout of selling this week on US-China trade deal worries.