Key indices gyrating at higher levels

Benchmark equity indices ended lower on Tuesday after two days of rally, dragged down by index majors HDFC twins and Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 413.24 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 61,932.47 even after beginning the trade on a firm note. During the day, it fell 498.3 points or 0.79 per cent to 61,847.41. The NSE Nifty went lower by 112.35 points or 0.61 per cent to end at 18,286.50.

“Markets took a breather as profit-taking emerged as the key factor which dragged the Sensex below the psychological 62,000 mark. While strong FII buying and upbeat domestic economic readings had been aiding the rally over the past few weeks, global uncertainty over interest rate movement and slackening demand would prompt investors to book profit at regular intervals,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

“The domestic benchmark's ascent towards record high was interrupted by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks, although small and mid-cap stocks outperformed. As anticipated, the Euro zone economy experienced a modest growth of 0.1 per cent QoQ in the Jan-Mar period, following a stagnant previous quarter. In the US market, cautious trading prevailed as debt-ceiling negotiations took precedence,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,406.86 crore, according to exchange data. Among the Sensex firms, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries and Maruti were the biggest laggards. Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Asian Paints and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major gainers.