Sensex ends 3-day winning streak

MUMBAI: Stock market on Friday snapped its three-day upward move on weak trends in the engineering, refinery and metal sectors, with its benchmark Sensex ending the day in negative territory with a loss of 32 points.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share barometer index, Sensex settled at 14,467.36, representing a fall of 31.88 points from its previous close of 14,499.24.

Friday's modest loss came after three consecutive days of gains on the bourses, when the Sensex has advanced by more than 400 points.

The 50-share Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange also eased by 15.35 points to 4,252.05 from its previous close of 4,267.40.

Even the latest government data showing further fall in inflation could not thwart the downward move on the domestic bourses, which also mirrored weak trends across other Asian markets.

State-run electric equipments firm BHEL was the biggest loser, followed by Gujarat Ambuja Cements and Reliance Industries (RIL), the country's most valued firm.

RIL dropped by 1.7 per cent after a Bombay High Court order restrained the company from selling its KG Basin gas to any third party other than Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) and NTPC.

Both RNRL and NTPC recorded smart gains on the bourses.

Reliance Energy, Hindalco and HDFC were among the major gainers on the Sensex.

Profit booking was seen in capital goods, IT, metal and refinery stocks, while selective buying was witnessed on the banking, auto and consumer durables sectors.