Sensex, Nifty End Marginally Lower

Indian shares moved in a narrow range before finishing marginally lower on Friday after a busy week of central bank meetings and Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex ended the session down 55.47 points, or 0.07 percent, at 79,486.32, extending declines for a second straight session.

The broader NSE Nifty index dropped 51.15 points, or 0.21 percent, to 24,148.20.

Second-line stocks faced heavy selling pressure, with the mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE closing down 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

SBI, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Coal India and Trent fell 2-4 percent in the Nifty pack while Infosys, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra, Titan Company and Mahindra & Mahindra rose 1-2 percent.

Other Asian markets ended mixed earlier in the day while European markets drifted lower following stimulus announcements from China.

The $1.4 trillion plan announced today by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress was substantial but analysts said the country needs to do more to stabilize the economy.

Oil prices traded lower in European trade, but were set to gain around 3 percent for the week following OPEC+’s decision for a month’s delay in plans to increase output and amid speculation the Trump administration may enforce tighter sanctions on oil-producing countries such as Iran and Venezuela.

Gold prices edged lower after climbing more than 1 percent in the previous session as Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will evaluate data to adjust the “pace and destination” of rates.