Sensex, Nifty trade lower; Prince Pipes debuts at 10% discount against IPO price

Equity benchmark Sensex gave away early gains after jumping over 100 points in the morning trade tracking gains in banking, FMCG and IT stocks. The 30-share BSE index was trading 22.11 points or 0.053 per cent lower at 41,553.03, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 4.40 points or 0.036 per cent to 12,241.40. IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, followed by Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and ITC. On the other hand, SBI was the top loser, followed by Tata Steel, Reliance and Asian Paint. In the previous session, the 30-share gauge ended 411.38 points, or 1 per cent, higher at 41,575.14. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty closed 119.25 points, or 0.98 per cent, up at 12,245.80. The appeared keen on creating fresh positions post expiry of December series derivatives contracts, news agency PTI reported citing unidentified traders. Prince Pipes and Fittings made a stock market debut December 30 with a 10 percent discount to issue price. The scrip opened at Rs 160 on the NSE and BSE as against final issue price of Rs 178 per share. However, the stock later recovered from the intraday low of Rs152.50 and hit a high of Rs 177.50 on the NSE.

On Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had a meeting with chiefs of PSU banks. She reiterated the government’s stand that the honest and genuine decisions taken by the bankers would not attract any scrutiny from the government agencies. She also announced a slew of other measures to boost the banking system and economy.

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Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 81.37 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 125.77 crore on Friday, data available with the stock exchange showed. The rupee gained 2 paise to 71.32 against the US dollar in morning session.

Source: Financial Express