Markets end lower on profit booking, Adani Ports jump before Sensex inclusion

Mumbai: The Indian stock markets closed lower in a volatile session on Friday on profit booking and underperformance in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.

Sensex closed 269 points lower at 77,209 (0.35 per cent) while Nifty was doing 65 points at 23,501.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) gained to close at Rs 1,476 apiece. On Monday, Adani Ports will be included in Sensex, replacing Wipro in the BSE benchmark.

According to market analysts, the heatwave in northern India is driving consumer durables stocks up.

"The global markets were subdued as weak guidance from Accenture led to profit booking in US tech stocks. Conversely, domestic IT stocks saw buying interest as market participants appeared to have factored in weaker earnings," according to experts.

On the sectoral front, IT, metal, media and telecom stocks were up 0.5-1 per cent while auto, FMCG, PSU Bank and realty shares went down 0.5-1 per cent.

The BSE midcap index was down 0.3 percent while smallcap index ended flat.

Rupak De of LKP Securities said that Nifty has been hovering within the 23,300 to 23,600 range, indicating indecisiveness, which sets the stage for a very volatile monthly expiry.

"A decisive move above 23,600 might take the index towards 24,000 in the short term, whereas failure to hold above 23,300 might trigger panic in the market. Below 23,300, the Nifty might fall towards 22,750 in the short term," he noted.