Fag-end selling keeps key indices in red

Profit Booking

• BSE Sensex declined by 354.21 pts or 0.49% to 71,731.42
• During the day, Sensex hit a high of 72,385.93 and a low of 71,602.14
• Nifty fell by 82.10 pts or 0.38% to 21,771.70

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex fell back by 354 points on Monday due to selling in index major Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Maruti amid weak trends from Asian and European markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 354.21 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 71,731.42 on fag-end selling. During the day, it hit a high of 72,385.93 and a low of 71,602.14. The Nifty fell by 82.10 points or 0.38 per cent to close at 21,771.70. Sensex and Nifty has gained around 0.7 per cent in the previous session. After a flat opening, benchmark indices moved in a narrow range before a sharp fall in the final hour. FMCG, telecom, financials and IT shares were on the back while pharma, auto and energy shares advanced.

“The Indian market witnessed a sharp fall during the last hour of Monday’s trading. The robust US job data for January indicates that the expected rate cuts from the Fed in the coming year may be less imminent. This is reflected in the recent sharp climb in US bond yields to above four per cent levels, which prompted investors to book profit from the post interim Budget rally amidst elevated valuations. The current drop in crude prices, provides support and restrains the decline,” said Vinod Nair, head r(esearch), Geojit Financial Services.

“Indications are in favour of consolidation to continue and expect Nifty to respect the 21,450-21,600 zone, in case the profit taking extends,” added Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (technical research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were the major laggards. Tata Motors jumped nearly 6 per cent after the company on Friday reported a two-fold jump in net profit at Rs 7,100 crore for the December quarter. Sun Pharma, Power Grid, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel, NTPC and Tata Consultancy Services were the other gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo settled in the green while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were quoting marginally lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.53 per cent to $76.92 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs70.69 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. The BSE benchmark climbed 440.33 points or 0.61 per cent to settle at 72,085.63 on Friday. The Nifty went up by 156.35 points or 0.72 per cent to 21,853.80.