Profit booking continues for 2nd session

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled lower for the second straight session on Wednesday due to profit-booking in select banking and auto stocks amid mixed trends from the global markets and outflow of foreign funds.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 27.09 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 73,876.82 in a volatile trade. During the day, the index oscillated between the high of 74,151.21 and the low of 73,757.23. The broader NSE Nifty declined 18.65 points or 0.08 per cent to 22,434.65, with 30 components of the 50-share benchmark ending with losses.

“Nifty remained volatile throughout the day after an initial weak start due to negative global cues. the index may trend towards 22,650. Support is positioned at 22,350 on the lower end,” said Rupak De, senior technical analyst, LKP Securities.

“Market is focused on the US FED chair’s speech, later today, for more hints. A statement in-line with the last policy is predicted to bring back a respite to the global market,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

BSE MidCap rose 0.61 per cent, while smallcap index gained 1.18 per cent and largecap fell marginally by 0.05 per cent. Among sectoral indices, BSE Realty fell the most by 2.45 per cent, followed by auto sector benchmark which declined by 0.37 per cent. While FMCG sector index went down by 0.27 per cent, consumer durables slipped 0.23 per cent. On the other hand, utilities rose 1.45 per cent and power gained 1.20 per cent.