Title: India stocks lower at close of trade; Nifty 50 down 0.40%

Dec 24, 2021 05:45AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Indian stocks were lower after the close on Friday as losses in the power, public sector companies and real estate sectors led shares lower.

At the close on the NSE, the Nifty 50 slipped 0.40 percent, while the BSE Sensex 30 index lost 0.33 percent.

The best performers on the Nifty 50 were HCL Technologies Ltd, which rose 3.08%, or 37.75 points, to trade at 1265.20 at the close of trade. In late trade, Tech Mahindra Ltd gained 2.38%, or 40.00 points, to close at 1723.80, while SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd gained 2.00%, or 22.55 points, to 1148.00 in late trade.

Grasim Industries Ltd was the worst performer, falling 2.93% or 48.70 points to close at 1610.90 in late trade. NTPC Ltd fell 2.65% or 3.30 points to close at 121.25 and Eicher Motors Ltd fell 1.81% or 44.90 points to 2435.35.

The top gainers on the BSE Sensex 30 were HCL Technologies Ltd, up 3.08% at 1265.10, Tech Mahindra Ltd, up 2.34% at 1723.20, and Asian Paints Ltd, up 0.65% at 3288.15.

The worst performers were NTPC Ltd, which fell 2.69% to 121.25 in late trade, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, which lost 2.47% to close at 203.25, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which fell 1.71% to 812.50 at the close of trade.

On the Indian National Stock Exchange, losses outweighed gains at 1159 to 623, and 36 ended unchanged; on the Bombay Stock Exchange, 1697 shares fell and 1526 rose while 100 ended unchanged.

Tech Mahindra Ltd shares rose to an all-time high, gaining 2.38%, or 40.00, to 1723.80; Tech Mahindra Ltd shares rose to a new all-time high, gaining 2.34%, or 39.45, to 1723.20.

India's VIX, which measures the implied volatility of Nifty 50 options, rose 2.04% to 16.1475.

Gold futures for February delivery rose 0.01%, or 0.25, to $1810.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodity trading, crude oil for February delivery rose 1.32%, or 0.96, to $73.72 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.10%, or 0.08, to $76.52 a barrel.

The USD/INR fell 0.05% to 74.982, while the EUR/INR rose 0.03% to 85.0070.