Sensex, Nifty witness worst week since March 15 amid Iran-Israel conflict

Mumbai, April 19 (IANS) Ending a four-day losing streak, India's benchmark indices closed higher on Friday led by HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance, among other factors.

The Sensex ended 599 points, or 0.83 per cent, higher at 73,088, while the Nifty closed at 22,147, up 151 points, or 0.7 per cent, on Friday.

However, the benchmark indices posted their worst weekly fall in over a month as worries over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran weighed on investor sentiment. The Nifty and the Sensex declined 1.65 per cent and 1.56 per cent, respectively, in the week ended April 19, its worst decline since March 15.

Intraday, the benchmarks declined nearly 1 per cent amid investor concerns that the West Asia turmoil might escalate to a war. During the day, the Nifty slipped as much as 0.99 per cent to 21,777.65, while the Sensex fell 0.93 per cent to 71,816.46 before bouncing back.

HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd added positively to the index, while Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, and HCL Technologies Ltd recorded limited gains in the index.

On the NSE, five sectors ended higher, one settled flat, while six declined, while 11 sectors declined and nine advanced on the BSE.