Sensex pares early gains as IT stocks crack

Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 390 points on Friday, pressured by heavy selling in IT, tech and energy stocks despite a positive trend in the global markets.

Besides, rising crude oil prices and relentless foreign capital outflows further weighed on sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened strong but came under severe selling pressure to close 389.01 points or 0.62 per cent lower at 62,181.67.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 112.75 points or 0.61 per cent to 18,496.60.

HCL Tech was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 6.72 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Reliance Industries.

On the other hand, Nestle India, Titan, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's, IndusInd Bank and ITC were among the gainers.

Sector-wise, BSE IT, metal and teck lost as much as 2.98 per cent, while healthcare and bankex logged gains.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and large-cap gauges slipped much as 1 per cent.

Following a rally in the US market, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul settled in the green.

Equities in Europe were also trading with mild gains in mid-session deals.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,131.67 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.05 per cent to $76.19 per barrel.

Flows in the mutual fund industry through systematic investment plans or SIPs route rose to an all-time high of Rs 13,306 crore in November, reflecting the growing maturity and confidence of investors.

However, inflow in equity mutual fund schemes plunged 76 per cent to Rs 2,258 crore in November from Rs 9,390 crore in the preceding month, data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed on Friday.