Mumbai, India (BBN) – Snapping its three-day winning streak, market benchmark BSE Sensex was trading down by nearly 20 points due to profit-booking by funds and retail investors despite firm Asian cues.
The 30-share barometer, which had gained 61.70 points in the previous three straight sessions, was trading lower by 16.29 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 28,335.33, with metal, consumer durables, power and auto stocks leading the losses, reports The Hindu Business Line quoting PTI.
On similar lines, the NSE Nifty slipped below the 8,800-mark by falling 8.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 8,796.35 points.
Brokers said domestic sentiment turned weak despite retail inflation falling to 3.17 per cent in January, mainly on account of declining prices of food items, including vegetables and pulses.
Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index fell the most by 0.86 per cent, followed by consumer durables 0.77 per cent, power 0.56 per cent and auto 0.51 per cent. On the other hand, realty index was up 0.14 per cent, banking 0.13 per cent, infrastructure 0.08 per cent and healthcare 0.06 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Reliance (+1.62 per cent), ONGC (+1.54 per cent), GAIL (+1.26 per cent), Adani Ports (+1.15 per cent) and HDFC (+0.66 per cent), while the major losers were Hero MotoCorp (-1.84 per cent), Coal India (-1.36 per cent), Bajaj Auto (-1.26 per cent), Asian Paints (-1.1 per cent) and Power Grid (-1.08 per cent).
Shares of Hindalco Industries rose 1.3 per cent to trade at Rs. 187.40 after the company yesterday reported a standalone net profit at Rs. 320.56 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.
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