Equity indices erase early gains, Bharti Airtel drops 6 pc on stake sale

Equity benchmark indices wiped out early gains on Tuesday and closed in the red after a volatile trading session that saw metal stocks shining but IT scrips plunging.

Equity benchmark indices wiped out early gains on Tuesday and closed in the red after a volatile trading session that saw metal stocks shining but IT scrips plunging. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 63 points or 0.21 per cent at 30,609 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 10 points or 0.11 per cent at 9,029.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty metal up by 2.6 per cent, auto by 1.5 per cent and realty by 1.2 per cent. But Nifty IT dipped by 1.9 per cent and pharma by 1.2 per cent. Among stocks, Bharti Airtel was the top loser after reports said its parent company will sell up to 2.75 per cent stake to raise about one billion dollars through a block deal to become a zero-debt firm. It closed 5.9 per cent lower at Rs 557.95 per share.

IT stocks were on a slide with Tata Consultancy Services down by 3.5 per cent, Infosys by 1.6 per cent and Tech Mahindra by 1.5 per cent. The other prominent losers were Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma and Cipla. However, JSW Steel jumped by 5.8 per cent to close at Rs 175.90 per share while Hindalco was up by 2.9 per cent. The others which gained were Eicher Motors, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, ITC and Maruti.

Meanwhile, Asian shares forged ahead as investors looked past US-China trade tensions to more stimulus in China and a re-opening world economy. Japan's Nikkei rose by 2.55 per cent to its highest since early March while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained by 1.88 per cent and South Korea's Kospi rose by 1.1 per cent. (ANI)

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