Sensex and Nifty reversed their single-day respite to close lower with fears about the new mutated variant of the Omicron virus globally and major central banks adopting measures to combat inflation, bothering investor sentiment. On Thursday, the Bank of England became the first sovereign regulator to raise its interest rates to combat inflation.
Nifty 50 closed below the 17,000 points level on Friday.
At close on Friday, Nifty 50 closed 263.20 points or 1.53 per cent lower at 16,985.20. It had last closed below the 17,000-mark on December 6.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 889.40 points or 1.54 per cent lower at 57,011.74.
IndusInd Bank was the top loser on the BSE. It closed 4.89 per cent lower on Friday. Kotak Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance were the other prominent stocks that closed in the red - they closed between 2.5 per cent to less than 3.6 per cent lower at close.
Infosys was the top gainer on the Sensex pack. It closed 2.84 per cent above its previous close. HCL Tech, Power Grid, Sun Pharma and TCS were the other stocks that closed in the green.
On the Nifty 50, Wipro emerged as the top gainer - closing 4.73 per cent above its previous close. Infosys, HCL Tech, Power Grid and Sun Pharma were the other stocks that closed in the green on the Nifty 50.
IndusInd emerged as the major loser on the Nifty 50, as well. It closed 4.61 per cent below its previous close. Tata Motors, ONGC, Kotak Bank and Hindustan Unilever were the other major losers on the index - all declining between 3.40 to less than 4.5 per cent below its previous close.
Nifty Midcap 50 closed 218.60 points or 2.58 per cent below its previous close at 8,267.55
Nifty Bank closed 930.00 points or 2.54 per cent below its previous close at 35,618.65
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.45 per cent to $73.93 per barrel.
In a separate development, the rupee closed 3 paise above its previous close at 76.06 against the U.S. dollar on Friday. The local unit, however, recorded its fourth weekly decline amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Firming up of crude oil prices too weighed on the local unit.
(With inputs from PTI)
