Sensex closes flat after slipping from record high
The Sensex and Nifty touched new all-time highs of 22,758.37 and 6,815.35 points, respectively, earlier in the session
Mumbai: The S&P BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty ended flat on Tuesday, after hitting new record highs for the second straight session, as the momentum waned ahead of the expiry of monthly derivative contracts on Wednesday.
The 30-share benchmark Sensex closed 0.03%, or 6.46 points, lower at 22,758.37, while the Nifty lost 0.03%, or 2.30 points, to end at 6,815.35.
In the morning trade, the Sensex touched a new lifetime high of 22,853.03 points, while the Nifty hit a fresh all-time high of 6,838 points.
Among gainers, GAIL India Ltd added 1.67% to ₹ 379.60, HDFC Bank Ltd rose 1.63% to ₹ 728.25, Larsen and Toubro Ltd(L&T) advanced 1.35% to ₹ 1,340, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd added 1.08% to ₹ 326.65, while Coal India Ltd climbed 0.96% to ₹ 299.10.
Among losers, Sesa Sterlite Ltd fell 4.01% to ₹ 193.70, Wipro Ltd slipped 2.80% to ₹ 531.30, State Bank of India shed 1.03% to ₹ 2,049.35, while Infosys Ltd declined 0.99% to ₹ 3,149.90.
The S&P BSE Capital Goods index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.19%, followed by S&P BSE Bankex and S&P BSE Healthcare indices, which rose 0.16% each. The S&P BSE Metal index was the top loser, down 0.79%.
Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd rose 4% at ₹ 482.30, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd jumped 3.74% to ₹ 275.95, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd climbed 2.75% to ₹ 327.45, Oil India Ltd gained 2.40% to ₹ 491.55, while Petronet LNG Ltd advanced 2.03% to ₹ 142.95.
Novartis India Ltd rose 6.34% to ₹ 497.20, after the company agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s cancer drug business for as much as $16 billion and sell its animal health operation to Eli Lilly and Co. for $5.4 billion in an overhaul of the Swiss drug maker.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd declined 0.33% to ₹ 574.50, after it said in a release to BSE that it lost an appeal to invalidate Abbott Tarka patent.
IL&FS Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd soared 9.94% to ₹ 50.90, after it got an order worth ₹ 268 crore for road drainage works in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Since the beginning of this year, the Sensex has gained 7.57%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.84 billion from local equity markets.
Monthly derivative contracts will expire on Wednesday, a day before the usually scheduled last Thursday of the month, for markets will remain closed on Thursday as Lok Sabha elections will be held in Mumbai.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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