Profit booking halts 3-day bull run

Mumbai: The domestic stock markets snapped the three-day winning run on Tuesday with benchmark Sensex falling by 110 points due to profit-taking in select IT, private bank and auto shares amid weak trends from the US markets and foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 110.64 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 73,903.91 with 16 of its components ending lower and 14 settling higher. During the day, the index dropped by 270.78 points or 0.36 per cent to a low of 73,743.77 points. The broader NSE Nifty closed lower by 8.70 points or 0.04 per cent at 22,453.30 despite recovery at the fag-end.

Both Sensex and Nifty scaled lifetime high levels in intra-day trade on Monday before settling around 0.5% higher.

“The domestic market took a breather on Tuesday after achieving a fresh record high on Monday. Factors such as a rising dollar, increasing US bond yields, and a notable uptick in crude oil prices collectively dampened investor sentiment. Better-than-expected US manufacturing data raised worries about a potential delay in interest rate cuts by the US Fed,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

“Nifty snapped its three-day rally despite a sharp recovery in the last half an hour. Global stocks were mixed on Tuesday after Wall Street fell as surprisingly strong US manufacturing data created doubts over how soon the US Federal Reserve might cut interest rates,” adds Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities.

Among the sectoral indices, teck fell by 0.71 per cent, IT declined 0.54 per cent, telecommunication (0.38 per cent) and bankex (0.19 per cent). Consumer Durables climbed 1.82 per cent, services jumped 1.56 per cent, metal (1.21 per cent), utilities (1.21 per cent) and commodities (1.17 per cent).

From the Sensex basket, Kotak Mahindra Bank fell the most by 1.84 per cent. ICICI Bank dropped 1.63 per cent, HCL Technologies by 1.82 per cent, and Infosys by 0.84 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro were the major laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, Tata Motors and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers. In the broader market, the BSE small-cap gauge jumped 1.28 per cent and the midcap index climbed 1.14 per cent. Analysts said mid and small-cap stocks continued their recovery rally, although concerns about high valuations lingered. Moreover, investors are eagerly anticipating guidance from the upcoming RBI monetary policy announcement for insight into near-term market direction.

In Asian markets, Shanghai settled lower while Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong ended in the positive territory. European markets were trading mostly in the green.