Sensex, Nifty End Modestly Lower In Cautious Trade
(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly lower on Friday but logged strong gains for the week, fueled by easing trade and geopolitical tensions.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex dipped 200.15 points, or 0.24 percent, to 82,330.59, following a strong rally earlier in the week.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty index fell 42.30 points, or 0.17 percent, to 25,019.80 after a strong weekly options expiry session on Thursday.
Investors waited for more clarity on the trade front after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed that trade talks between India and the U.S. are underway, and that the process is far from being final.
In economic releases, latest data released by the Commerce Ministry revealed that India's goods exports rose 9.1 percent, the fastest pace in six months in April.
However, goods imports increased by a significant 19 percent, resulting in a wider trade deficit of $26.4 billion, the highest since last Nov.
Broader indexes managed to hold on to gains, with the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes rising 0.9 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,619 shares rising while 1,365 shares declined and 142 shares closed unchanged.
Infosys, SBI, HCL Technologies and Bharti Airtel fell 1-3 percent while Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever and Eternal all rose around 1 percent.
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