Indian stock markets ended in the red on Friday, dragged mainly by IT software services exporter Infosys, an index heavyweight that lost almost 12 percent intra-day in response to the company’s MD & CEO Vishal Sikka’s resignation.
The Infosys stock was the biggest Sensex loser, closing 9.60 percent lower; other top losers were Sun Pharma and Punjab National Bank. The benchmark index closed 270 points down at 31,524 while the NSE Nifty ended 66 points lower at 9,837.
The day saw many stocks hitting fresh 52-week lows, such as Apollo Hospitals, Infosys and Amar Raja Batteries.
The sentiments on the stock markets were also affected by the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain on Thursday that killed at least 13 people and injured more than 100.
Though Infosys crashed on the bourses, hitting a three-year low of Rs 895.75, some of the other IT stocks, such as TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies, posted gains.
Infosys could see a prolonged spell of challenges following MD & CEO Vishal Sikka’s resignation. “Resignation of Infosys’ (INFO) CEO owing to ‘continuous stream of distractions in recent quarters’ is a big dent to the company’s investment attractiveness. We believe that it will be time before stability returns at the company. With allegations and counter allegations after the resignation, the business may take time to be distraction-free, in our view,” brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities Limited said in a note on Friday evening.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 2,182 crore on Friday while DIIs were net buyers of stocks worth Rs 584 crore, according to provisional data released by the National Stock Exchange.
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose moderately to end at $393.61 billion as of August 11, 2017, according to weekly data released by the Reserve Bank of India.
Most of the liquor stocks ended in the red, with Pioneer Distilleries losing as high as 4.98 percent. Other stocks that ended with losses included Radico Khaitan and United Breweries while liquor stocks that bucked the trend included Jagatjit Industries and Khoday India.
The Supreme Court order banning sale and serving of alcohol within 500 metres of state and national highways has had a negative impact on liquor sales, with India’s largest spirits maker United Spirits Ltd. reporting 19 percent drop in volume sales during June quarter.
Overall, about 50 percent of the approximately 30,000 liquor outlets are still closed, the Economic Times reported, citing Anand Kripalu, MD of United Spirits.
