Sensex, Nifty decline

The Sensex and Nifty dropped on Friday tracking weak global equity markets, reports NDTV Online.

IT and pharma stocks pulled down the indexes. "Domestically, there is a scenario that markets have been overvalued, as well as political developments ahead of elections," said Dhananjay Sinha, head of institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services, adding that global overhang also persisted. The Sensex fell 187 points to end at 34,915 while Nifty settled at 10,618, down 61 points.

The Nifty IT index extended losses into a third consecutive session. The index had gained nearly 12 per cent in the previous month on the back of a weaker rupee and strong earnings from IT majors.

Pharma stocks pushed both indexes lower, with the Nifty Pharma index falling over 1 per cent. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell over 3.0 per cent.

Other top Nifty50 losers included Bajaj Auto, ITC, Yes Bank and Axis Bank, which were down over 2.0 per cent.

Among Nifty50 gainers, Adani Ports, GAIL, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank and HUL rose between 1.0 per cent and 3.0 per cent.

The rupee extended fall Friday. It was trading at 66.88 against the US dollar as compared to previous close of 66.64.