Sensex sheds 159 points on weak global cues, profit-booking; Bharti Airtel top loser

The Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday, dragged down by profit-booking in market heavyweights, as sentiment across the globe slid on political developments and factory surveys. Profit-booking in recent gainers led by metal, power and infrastructure stocks also contributed to the losses. 

The benchmark Sensex closed down 0.45 per cent at 35,264.41, while the broader Nifty ended 0.53 per cent lower at 10,657.30. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices dipped 0.7 per cent each.

Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market turned sharply negative. On the BSE, 1,658 stocks declined, 941 stocks rallied, while 166 stocks remained unchanged. 

"Weak global cues and trade tensions continued to be an overhang on markets. Rupee continued to be under pressure led by FII selling, inflationary concerns and current account deficit. Key events this week will be governments announcement on minimum support price (MSP) and fear of escalation in trade war between US and China," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Losses largely came from the metal index, followed by power, infrastructure, realty, PSU, oil and gas, capital goods, FMCG, healthcare, auto and banking. 

On the other hand, IT, consumer durables and teck ended in the positive zone.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints, Infosys, Vedanta, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank whereas Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp and HDFC Bank were the major losers.

On the NSE, Infosys, Asian Paints and Titan were the highest gainers while Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Hindalco Industries lost the most.

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Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 157.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 2,262.83 crore on Friday, as per provisional data. 

European shares opened lower amid weak Asian markets as trade tensions between the US and its trading partners continues to be a key concern for investors.