INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The stock markets ended Friday's choppy
session on a lower note, with BSE benchmark index Sensex declining 95 points
The NSE Nifty shed 39 points to settle at 10,696
Losses in the indices were led by weakness in banking stocks however gains in auto stocks capped the downside
Thirty four stocks on the 50-scrip index Nifty finished in the negative zone
Top laggards on the index were Bajaj Finserv, ONGC, Eicher Motors, Tata Steel and GAIL India, ending with losses of between 2.4 per cent and
shares closed 1 per cent lower while HDFC Bank declined 1.3 per cent and Punjab National Bank (PNB) fell 0.8 per cent.On the other hand,
ICICI Bank shares rose 1.2 per cent, after the country's largest private sector bank denied a media report that it has asked its chief
executive Chanda Kochhar to go on leave until an independent inquiry on alleged cases of impropriety is concluded
During Friday's session, ICICI Bank shares had gained as much as 5 per cent at the day's highest point.Metal stocks also declined
The Nifty Metal index dropped 0.7 per cent
Tata Steel, SAIL and Hindustan Zinc closed between 1.7 per cent and 5 per cent lower.Among IT stocks, Tech Mahindra was among the lead
in the March quarter - the fastest pace of growth in seven quarters
in the latest quarter might also strengthen expectations of an interest rate increase by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as its reviews
monetary policy next week.Strong growth in agriculture (4.5 per cent), manufacturing (9.1 per cent) and construction sectors (11.5 per cent)
contributed to the overall growth
For the full year (2017-18), GDP expanded at 6.7 per cent, lower than the 7.1 per cent recorded in the previous year.On Wednesday, separate
However, for fiscal year 2017-18, infrastructure growth slowed to a three-year low of 4.2 per cent
cent.The Nifty Auto finished 0.7 per cent higher
Maruti Suzuki India and Bajaj Auto shares rose 3.2 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively
last month while Bajaj Auto posted a 30 per cent jump.Meanwhile, weather office IMD or India Meteorological Department on Wednesday retained
its average monsoon rains forecast.Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 15.31 crore on Thursday and domestic
institutional investors (DIIs) Rs 266.02 crore, provisional data from the NSE showed.(With agency inputs)
