Nifty hits new high before closing at day's low

Mumbai: Domestic equities traded lackluster on Friday despite Nifty touching a new high of 22,297 intra-day for the fifth consecutive session, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The Nifty traded in a narrow range throughout the day and fell in red in the last 30 minutes to close at day's low of 22,212.70 on Thursday, down 4.75 points or 0.02 per cent.

Mixed flash estimates of PMI for the month of February by S&P Global for both India and the US along with the hawkish tone of the RBI in its meeting minutes dented investor sentiments. Even China’s stimulus announcement in the form of a rate cut failed to lift the global mood.

Nifty Midcap100/Smallcap100, however, ended with gains of 0.3 per cent each. Sectorally, it was a mixed trend with profit booking seen in IT, PSU banks, oil & gas and metals. Realty, pharma, and auto, on the other hand, saw buying interest, Khemka said.

Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio, said the Nifty closed on a sideways note at 22,212, while the Sensex closed at 73,142. Nifty Media and Nifty Realty were the sectors which outperform on Friday, up by 1.36 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Bajaj Finance, SBI Life Insurance, Dr Reddy's Labs, Titan Company and HDFC Life, whereas the top losers included BPCL, HCL Tech, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, and JSW Steel.