Fag-end selling pulls indices into the red

Markets In Bear Grip

- Session on positive note on pullback trading

- But succumbed to selling pressure on profit booking

- BSE Sensex closed 68.62 pts lower at 57,232.06

- NSE Nifty ended 28.95 pts down at 17,063.25

- NTPC, L&T, Nestle and ICICI Bank among laggards

Mumbai: Market gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing streak to the sixth session on Wednesday as lingering Ukraine crisis continued to dent investor sentiment.

The BSE Sensex closed 68.62 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 57,232.06 and the NSE Nifty ended 28.95 points or 0.12 per cent down at 17,063.25.

For better part of session, both indices traded in the positive territory tracking mostly higher Asian peers as investors hoped that Western sanctions on Russia after Moscow's troop movements near Ukraine border might soften Vladimir Putin defiant tone and leave some room to avoid war. The Sensex breadth was equally divided between gains and losses. NTPC, L&T, Nestle and ICICI Bank shares dropped the most on the index. "As global markets turned positive, domestic indices opened the day on a positive note, however, witnessed high volatility and succumbed to selling pressure to close the day in favour of bears.

The impact of geopolitical uncertainties and soaring fuel costs will continue to keep markets across the globe highly volatile. Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices, while on the sectoral front, realty stocks attracted buyers," Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services said. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree in Indian markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs3,245.52 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, as per exchange data. Sectorally, BSE energy, capital goods and oil&gas fell as much as 0.54 per cent.

Of the 19 sectoral indices, five closed in the red. Broader largecap index closed with losses, while smallcap and midcap indices registered gains. On the forex market front, the rupee closed 23 paise higher at 74.61 against the US dollar. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses closed mostly higher, hoping that war in Ukraine can be avoided after the US, Japan and European powers imposed sanctions on Russia.