Sensex, Nifty extend losses tracking weak global cues

The Sensex was dragged lower by mainly Ultratech Cement, M&M, Infosys, Reliance, Bajaj Finance and Nestle -- dropping as much as 1.88 per cent.

Domestic equity gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing run for the third session in a row on Friday as participants remained cautious tracking other Asian markets amid geopolitical uncertainties in eastern Europe.

After swinging about 700 points between gains and losses during the session, the BSE Sensex finally closed 59.04 points or 0.10 per cent lower at 57,832.97.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty edged lower by 28.30 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 17,276.30.

The Sensex was dragged lower by mainly Ultratech Cement, M&M, Infosys, Reliance, Bajaj Finance and Nestle -- dropping as much as 1.88 per cent.

On the index, 17 shares closed in the negative zone.

Analysts said the Indian markets ended almost flat in line with range-bound Asian markets.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said, "US stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday, as investors dealt with renewed fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine as the US and its allies accused Moscow of continuing to build up troop levels."

Investors hastened a move late in the session toward defensive sectors and safe havens such as US bonds and gold as geopolitical tensions between Washington and Russia over Ukraine flared, he added.

Other Asian markets too ended lower as investors weighed renewed US warnings of an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine.

Crude oil benchmark Brent futures dropped 2.19 per cent to trade at $90.93 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,242.10 crore in the Indian capital markets on Thursday, exchange data showed.