Sensex succumbs to fag-end sell-off; logs weekly losses

The BSE Sensex stayed on the back foot for the third straight session Friday as investors dialled down equity exposure amid high valuations and a fresh spell of uncertainty in the global markets.

After a subdued opening, the benchmark faced sudden selling pressure in the last half-hour of trade to close at 39,452.07, down by 289.29 points, or 0.73 per cent.

On similar lines, the wider NSE Nifty tumbled 90.75 points, or 0.76 per cent, to finish at 11,823.30.

During the week, the Sensex fell 163.83 points or 0.41 per cent, while the Nifty lost 47.35 points or 0.39 per cent.

Only five of the 30 Sensex stocks finished with gains Friday. These were L&T, Vedanta, Sun Pharma, PowerGrid and TCS, which rose up to 0.80 per cent.

Top losers included IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Yes Bank, HCL Tech, HUL and Hero MotoCorp, falling up to 4.36 per cent.

Barring capital goods, all BSE sectoral indices ended in the red.

On the global front, investors scurried to safe-haven assets after China's industrial output growth in May sank to more than 17-year lows, highlighting risks to world growth.

Flaring up of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following attacks on two oil tankers and continued uncertainty over US-China trade talks also weighed on risk sentiment.

"Ripple effect from a weak global market while premium valuation and the slow economy is hurting the market. The continuous exchange of words between the US and Tehran regarding the oil tanker attack, progress of US-China trade war, Fed policy outcome on 19th June and progress of monsoon will be closely watched by the investors.

"The market is cautious today awaiting these important events while highly leveraged companies are being mostly impacted," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Sectorally, BSE realty, telecom, bankex, auto, finance and FMCG indices ended up to 2.11 per cent lower. Capital goods gained 0.21 per cent.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices followed the benchmarks, shedding up to 1.02 per cent.

After spiking over 4 per cent over the past two days, Brent crude futures pared gains to trade 0.11 per cent lower at USD 61.24 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, while Tokyo stocks ended in the green, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul closed lower.

Exchanges in Europe were also trading in the red in early deals.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee depreciated 19 paise to 69.69 against the US dollar intra-day.