Sensex, Nifty end flat as US-China trade tensions return; TCS gains on share buyback boost

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex ended with modest gains on Friday, helped by a late burst of buying in technology and pharma stocks, even as global sentiment took a hit after the US slapped fresh tariffs on Chinese imports. Index heavyweight TCS spurted 2.75 percent after the company’s board approved a Rs 16,000-crore share buyback plan. Global cues were grim as US President Donald Trump approved levying of new tariffs worth $50 billion on Chinese exports, while Beijing vowed to quickly retaliate. European shares were mixed after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it would phase out some of its easy-money policies, but held back on a rate hike. The 30-share Sensex, after succumbing to a broad sell-off in afternoon trade, managed to close 22.32 points or 0.06 percent higher at 35,622.14 on fag-end buying in IT and pharma counters. The NSE Nifty, which dipped below the key 10,800-mark to touch a low of 10,755.40, bounced back on late buying to close at 10,817.70, up 9.65 points, or 0.09 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4472957” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The benchmarks finished with gains for the fourth week in a row. The Sensex advanced 178.47 points, or 0.50 percent while the Nifty climbed 50.05 points or 0.46 percent. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 576.19 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,372.84 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data. “Market was range-bound following the US decision to impose trade tariffs against China which is signalling re-emergence of trade war. The global market remained mixed as ECB outlined plans to taper the stimulus programs but took a conservative view on interest rate hike. “Positive cues on IT index and improving focus on pharma stocks due to valuation and depreciating rupee lifted the market to end on a positive note,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Among the Sensex components, Dr Reddy’s topped the gainers list by surging 3.65 percent after the company received final approval from the US health regulator for generic version of Suboxone, prescribed for opioid addiction. Other counters that ended higher were Infosys, Sun Pharma, HUL, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and Wipro, rising by up to 2.04 percent. Yes Bank took the biggest blow, plunging 1.91 percent, while Axis Bank slumped 0.71 percent after Fitch rating revised its outlook to negative from stable. SBI, ONGC, Coal India, NTPC, M&M, L&T, ITC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto also finished lower. Among the sectoral indices, IT index gained the most by rising 2.24 percent, followed by healthcare 1.88 percent and teck 1.83 percent. On the other hand, PSU index lost 1.64 percent, metal 1.53 percent, infrastructure 1.19 percent, realty 1.17 percent, power 1.10 percent, oil and gas 1.08 percent, capital goods 1.04 percent and bankex 0.65 percent. The broader markets too were under pressure. The BSE small-cap index declined 0.46 percent, while the mid-cap index lost 0.40 percent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.50 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.43 percent and Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.73 percent. In the Eurozone, Paris CAC 40 was up 0.30 percent, while Frankfurt’s DAX shed 0.10 percent. London’s FTSE also fell 0.69 percent in late morning session.