Sensex ends 0.41 per cent down

Mumbai, Dec 11: A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets ended trade on a weak note on Friday, slipping 0.41 per cent after lower than expected industrial production data acted as a dampner. Banking, telecom and realty stocks came under selling pressure.

The country’s industrial output is projected to have expanded 10.3 per cent in October, as per the latest official data released on Friday, lower than what analysts had predicted.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,199.74 points and rose more than 162 points during the morning session, ended trade at 17,119.03 points, down 70.28 points or 0.41 per cent from its previous close at 17,189.31 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty too ended in the red at 5,117.3 points, against the previous close at 5,134.65 points, a loss of 17.35 points or 0.34 per cent.

Scientists rejig human evolution

New Delhi, Dec 11: The ancestors of the present-day populations of China, Japan and other east Asian countries had migrated from India, scientists from 10 countries including India said on Friday after achieving a breakthrough in the study of the evolution of humans and their spread across the world. “This is path breaking. This large study establishes that Indians are ancestors of Japanese, Chinese and all other East Asians,” Samir Brahmachari, director general of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) told on Friday.