New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS): Nifty posted its fourth straight weekly loss on Friday, as it fell for the second consecutive day, dropping 55.10 points, or 0.28 per cent, to settle at 19,310.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since June 30, said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
"The China Evergrande Group filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York late on Thursday and that marred sentiments for equities around the globe.
Our markets attempted a smart recovery mid-session, where Nifty surged 120 points intra-day from the lows, but that flourish did not sustain and eventually Nifty closed lower for the day. Trading was volatile as index gyrated wildly throughout the session," Vakil said.
Infosys contributed the most to the index decline, while Hero MotoCorp had the largest percentage drop, falling by 2.1 per cent. Nifty IT index ended down 1.47 per cent at 30,604 on Friday.
FMCG and PSU banks were among the sectoral gainers. With this week’s fall, Nifty has declined for the fourth consecutive week.
Nifty Small cap Index underperformed the benchmark Index where it fell by 0.53 per cent as against Nifty's fall of 0.28 per cent. Declining shares outnumbered the advancing shares as advance decline ratio stood at 0.73 on BSE.
Vaibhav Vidwani, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio, said that in recent developments, Punjab National Bank and Trent will be included in Nifty Next 50, while HDFC AMC and Indus Towers will be excluded from Nifty Next 50, effective from September 29.
Concord Biotech debuted on the Indian stock market on Friday. The company is backed by late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's RARE Trusts and speculation was that it will be a weak debut amid the subdued market conditions, and the stock debuted at only 21.5 per cent premium, Vidwani said.
The Sensex closed down 202.36 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 64,948.66.
Around 1,523 shares rose, 1,978 fell, while 133 remained constant.
Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Coal India, Hindalco Industries, and Tech Mahindra were among the major losers on the Nifty, while Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, and Nestle India were among the gainers.