Sensex, Nifty fall for second straight session on weak global trends

PTI

Mumbai, October 19

Equity benchmark indices declined for the second consecutive session on Thursday amid weak trends in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Disappointing quarterly earnings numbers and revenue forecast from IT services company Wipro also weighed on investor sentiments.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 247.78 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 65,629.24 points. During the day, it plunged 533.52 points or 0.80 per cent to 65,343.50 points.

The Nifty declined 46.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 19,624.70 points.

Among the Sensex firms, Wipro fell nearly 3 per cent after the company reported an almost flat consolidated net profit at Rs 2,667.3 crore for the September quarter, trailing street expectations. It has also projected up to 3.5 per cent fall in revenue in the current quarter on weak global economic outlook and uncertain business environment.

NTPC, Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance Industries were among the other major laggards.

Nestle jumped nearly 4 per cent after the FMCG major reported an increase of 37.28 per cent in net profit at Rs 908.08 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, helped by a consistent performance almost across all major brands.

UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank were among the gainers. In Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the negative territory. European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.99 per cent to USD 89.68 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,831.84 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark plunged 551.07 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 65,877.02 points while the Nifty declined 140.40 points or 0.71 per cent to 19,671.10 points.