Profit booking in oil, FMCG, banking stocks keeps indices in red

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for a second day on Tuesday due to profit-taking in select banking, power and FMCG stocks amid mixed global markets and foreign fund outflows. Fall in index major Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dented sentiment.

Reversing its early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 183.74 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 59,727.01. During the day, it declined 331.45 points or 0.55 per cent to a low of 59,579.30. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 46.70 points or 0.26 per cent to end at 17,660.15 as 29 of its stocks declined, while 21 advanced. After a gap-up opening, the index moved in a range of 17,766.60 to 17,610.20 during the day.

“The banking stocks pared the performance during the day, while the market was grappling with the sell-off in the IT sector. However, the IT sector experienced a marginal relief rally, aided by bottom fishing, as the recent correction has made the sector attractive for long-term investment,” said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

“Global markets struggled to make much headway on Tuesday as investors weighed Chinese data that pointed to an uneven recovery, as well as the possibility of further policy tightening by the Federal Reserve and other central banks,” said Deepak Jasani, head (retail research) at HDFC Securities.

“Markets languished in negative territory for the better part of the trading session and ended weak for the second day in a row as selective profit-taking in banking, power & FMCG stocks weighed. However, buying in realty and metal stocks limited the downside,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 533.20 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.