Sensex slips below 35,000, ends 216 points lower; ICICI Bank top loser
In a volatile session, the Sensex, after opening higher at 35,213.14, advanced to hit a high of 35,234.14, but ended at 34,949.24, down 216.24 points, or 0.61 per cent. The gauge had risen 820.57 points in the previous three sessions.
The Sensex and Nifty took a breather on Tuesday after three sessions of gains, with the Sensex slipping below the key 35,000-level due to a heavy selling mainly in banking and healthcare counters amid unabated foreign fund outflows and subdued global cues. Moreover, fresh weakness in the rupee against the dollar too aggravated the woes.
In a volatile session, the Sensex, after opening higher at 35,213.14, advanced to hit a high of 35,234.14, but ended at 34,949.24, down 216.24 points, or 0.61 per cent. The gauge had risen 820.57 points in the previous three sessions.
The broader Nifty finished 55.35 points, or 0.52 per cent, down at 10,633.30 after hitting the day's high of 10,717.25 and a low of 10,616.10.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices slipped 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On the BSE, 1,445 stocks declined, 1,235 stocks rallied, while 163 stocks remained unchanged.
"Market turned to profit booking on weak global cues and PSU banks underperformed after recent rally. Consolidation in market may continue due to fear of downgrade in FY19 numbers and worsening domestic macros. Additionally, higher retail fuel price is adding inflationary pressures. Investors are expecting volatility ahead of F&O expiry which may direct them to stay cautious," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Despite a strong start to trade, key benchmark indices retreated sharply from their higher levels following bouts of profit-taking amid fresh weakness in the rupee against the dollar.
The rupee depreciated by 57 paise to Rs 68 (intra-day) against the dollar at the forex market today.
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The major gainers on the Sensex were Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Dr Reddy's Lab while ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Yes Bank, Asian Paints and IndusInd Bank were the major losers.
On the Nifty, the top gainers were GAIL, Hindustan Petroleum and IOC. The major losers were ICICI Bank, SBI and Bharti Infratel.
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