Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Friday, as positive macroeconomic data failed to lift spirits amid negative cues from global markets.

In a largely subdued session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 12.27 points or 0.02% lower at 61,223.03. Similarly, the NSE Nifty slipped 2.05 points or 0.01 % to 18,255.75.

Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.66%, followed by Axis Bank, HUL, Wipro, M&M, HDFC and Bharti Airtel.

On the other hand, TCS, Infosys, L&T, Tech Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul ended in the negative territory.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also witnessing selling pressure in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.86% to $85.20 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth ₹1,390.85 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.

On the domestic economic front, the wholesale price-based inflation bucked a 4-month rising trend in December 2021 and eased to 13.56%, mainly on account of softening fuel, power and manufacturing items even though food prices hardened.

The country’s exports in December 2021 surged 38.91% on an annual basis to $37.81 billion due to healthy performance by sectors such as engineering, textiles and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to $21.68 billion during the month, government data showed on Friday.