Sensex, Nifty end lower on inflation, industrial output worries
Shares snapped two days of gains and ended lower on Thursday due to concerns related to growth after data showed a surprise drop in industrial output for December and a rise in January inflation to a six-year high.
The broader NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 0.22 per centat 12,174.65 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.26per centto 41,459.79.
Annual retail inflation of theeconomy rose to 7.59per centin January, while December industrial output contracted 0.3 per cent, after rising for the first time in three months in November.
The data worried investors, already grappling with slowing growth. India's central bank has downwardly revised India's growth forecast for the first half of the next fiscal year to 5.5 per cent-6.0 per cent. The earlier projection was 5.9 per cent-6.3 per cent.
Most sectors traded negative, but the biggest drags were private-sector banks, with their main sub-index closing down 1.36 per cent.
The Nifty financials index shed 0.73 per cent.
Among stocks, IndusInd Bank was the top laggard on the Nifty, dropping 3.65 per cent, while Yes Bank emerged as the top gainer rising 5.68 per cent.