BackSensex falls 119 points, closes below 26,000; Nifty closes below 7,900
The S&P BSE Sensex closes 0.46%, or 119.45 points, lower at 25,960.03, while the Nifty index closes 0.41%, or 32.70 points, lower at 7,896.25
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Mumbai: Markets on Wednesday failed to make good use of the early momentum in a fluctuating trade as the benchmark Sensex broke below the psychological 26,000-mark by falling over 119 points amid profit-booking and a mixed global trend. The broader NSE Nifty too cracked below the 7,900-level.
Caution ahead of the expiry of December monthly derivatives contracts on Thursday weighed, traders said. Sentiment took a hit after International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde wrote in a guest article in a German newspaper that global growth will be “disappointing and patchy" in 2016. She pointed to the prospects of US Federal Reserve rate hike and slowdown in China as fuelling uncertainty and risk of global volatility.
The BSE index, earlier backed up by covering-up of short positions, succumbed to profit-booking and ended below the 26,000-level at 25,960.03, down 119.45 points, or 0.46%. It had gained 240.77 points in the previous two sessions.
The NSE Nifty closed lower by 32.70 points, or 0.41%, at 7,896.25. It touched the day’s high of 7,944.75 in early trade.
“Early gains were frittered away as traders indulged in year-end profit-booking in the stocks across the board," said Manoj Choraria, a Delhi-based stock broker.
A mixed trend in Asia, and European shares slipping from their three-week highs in early trade only compounded the woes. The bear grip was so tight that as many as 21 stocks out of the 30 in the Sensex pack lost while others advanced.
Infosys Ltd was the worst hit as it plunged 1.52%, followed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) (1.38%) and Wipro Ltd (1.04%). Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, State bank of India (SBI), Reliance Industries Ltd, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd and Larsen and Toubro Ltd also ran up losses.
But Tata Steel Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd, NTPC Ltd, ITC Ltd, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd all ended higher.
Stocks of liquor companies United Spirits Ltd, United Breweries Holdings Ltd, Empee Distilleries Ltd and Tilaknagar Industries Ltd felt the heat for the second straight day as they fell up to 5.01% after the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Kerala government’s policy restricting issuance of bar licences to five-star hotels only.
The BSE IT index fell the most by 1.21% followed by technology (0.77%), oil and gas (0.56%), banking (0.43%), PSU (0.30%), auto (0.30%) and realty (0.17%). Broader markets left the Sensex far behind, with the mid-cap index rising 0.21% and small-cap 0.07%. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net bought shares worth ₹ 8.49 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional data.
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