Profit booking, weak rupee subdue equity markets  

Mumbai: The domestic bourses turned sluggish on Friday owing to profit booking, a weak rupee and lower crude prices. The key indices closed in the red as heavy selling pressure was witnessed in IT, media and entertainment stocks.

The market barometer Sensex closed at 27,836.50 points down 105.61 points or 0.38 per cent from the previous close at 27,942.11 points. The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears -- with 1,671 declines and 1,006 advances.

The NSE Nifty edged down to 8,538.35 points -- down 26.65 points or 0.31 per cent. On Thursday, the benchmark indices closed in the positive territory, supported by positive global cues and a strong rupee. The barometer index was up 126.93 points or 0.46 per cent, while the Nifty edged up by 45.50 points or 0.0.53 per cent.

Tracking firm trend in Asian markets and overnight gains in the US, Sensex opened at 27,966.14 points and breached the key 28,000-mark in the first hour of trading. Later, key indices eased on profit booking and weaker rupee. Indian currency against US dollar fell 12 paise to 67.03 from 66.91. 

Tracking firm trend in Asian markets and overnight gains in the US, Sensex opened at 27,966.14 points and breached the key 28,000-mark in the first hour of trading after investors built more bets and foreign inflows continued amid encouraging corporate earnings. Sensex recorded a high of 28,048.70 points and a low of 27,735.87 points during the intra-day trade.

The rupee on Friday slipped from its initial gains. The Indian currency against the US dollar depreciated by 12 paise to 67.03 from Thursday’s closing level of 66.91 on sudden bouts of dollar demand from imports and banks amid lower domestic equities.
The dollar index was trading lower by 0.03 per cent at 96.07 against a basket of six currencies in the early trade.

The US dollar was mostly mixed against its major rivals in Asian trade. It extended its gains and scaled a three-week high against the yen after China’s second-quarter gross domestic product and June activity data pointed to stabilization in China’s economy and bolstered risk sentiment.

Source: IANS