Mumbai: Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower Tuesday amid profit-taking after a four-day rally, in line with weakness in Asian equities.
Buying in IT stocks, however, cushioned the market’s fall.
Fag-end selling dragged the 30-share BSE Sensex lower, leading the benchmark to settle 104.35 points, or 0.13 per cent, down at 78,180.72. During the day, it climbed 379.85 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 78,664.92.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 31.65 points, or 0.13 per cent, to end at 24,398.70.
From the Sensex pack, Trent emerged as the top loser by tumbling 12.42 per cent after its June quarter revenue growth missed market expectations.
Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank were also among the laggards.
HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Titan, Eternal and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 1.22 per cent to USD 72.87 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi tanked 4.91 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.
“Profit booking emerged in the latter half of the session as weakness across Asian markets and investor caution ahead of the US Fed minutes weighed on sentiment. However, IT stocks continued to lend support, extending gains ahead of the June-quarter earnings season as the sector recovered from recent corrections,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
US markets ended higher Monday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 243.03 crore Monday, according to exchange data.
On Monday, the Sensex jumped 521.16 points, or 0.67 per cent, to settle at 78,285.07. The Nifty climbed 159.50 points, or 0.66 per cent, to end at 24,430.35.