Subdued global cues pull market lower; healthcare stocks fall

Mumbai : Subdued global cues dampened India’s equity indices — S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 — on Thursday.

Both the indices closed marginally lower after opening in the positive territory. Globally, markets tanked after inconclusive talks between Russia and Ukraine and weak Chinese manufacturing data.

On the domestic front, heavy selling pressure was witnessed in the healthcare stocks.

On the other hand, Telecom, FMCG and Power stocks made healthy gains.

Consequently, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 58,568.51 points, down 0.20 per cent or 115.48 points, whereas NSE Nifty50 closed at 17,464.75 points, down 0.19 per cent or 33.50 points.

“Nifty closed marginally in the red on the last day of the financial year after swinging between gains and losses,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

“Nifty seems to be consolidating after a rise. In the new F&O expiry series and a new fiscal year, we could see some upward momentum in the first few days. Whether this will take Nifty beyond the 17,795 mark will be interesting to watch. On downmoves 17,344 could be a support.”

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services: “Domestic market opened on a positive note taking cues from global market & FIIs buying. However, the mood turned negative in line with global peers following inconclusive Russia-Ukraine talks.”

“Plunge in Oil prices on reports that the US will release substantial petroleum reserves & cheaper oil offered to India by Russia will be positive for India in the future.”