Mumbai, India (BBN)- The Sensex and Nifty were trading flat as investors remained wary ahead of exit poll results Thursday.
Brokers said trimming of positions by participants ahead of exit poll results for the Assembly elections later in the day amid a weak global trend influenced trading sentiment, reports The Hindu Business Line.
Domestic sentiment was also hit as concerns grew over a Fed rate hike at its policy meeting next week.
Among BSE sectoral indices, infrastructure index was down 0.48 per cent, healthcare 0.44 per cent, power 0.27 per cent and metal 0.21 per cent.
On the other hand, realty index gained the most by 0.79 per cent, consumer durables 0.59 per cent, auto 0.54 per cent and banking 0.2 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Asian Paints (+1.25 per cent), Tata Motors (+0.96 per cent), HDFC (+0.9 per cent), Axis Bank (+0.86 per cent) and State Bank of India (+0.85 per cent), while the major losers were Dr Reddy's (-3.94 per cent), GAIL (-1.98 per cent), Adani Ports (-1.21 per cent), Power Grid (-1.05 per cent) and Wipro (-0.88 per cent).
EARLY TRADE
The 30-share Sensex barometer, which had lost 146.25 points in the previous two sessions, fell another 86.92 points or 0.30 per cent to 28,815.02.
The broader Nifty too declined by 24.80 points or 0.27 per cent to 8,899.50.
UP ELECTION
Uttar Pradesh election is the world's largest this year and will have a key influence on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances of clinching a second term in 2019.
Talks of a hung house suddenly gained momentum in the last phase of polling with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself flagging the possibility of a hung Assembly in the State.
Even before the election results are declared on March 11, party insiders do not discount chances of a fractured verdict after the seven phases of polling that will come to an end today in the absence of any wave.
ASIAN SHARES
In Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 1.01 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.15 per cent in early trade. Shanghai Composite index shed 0.92 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.33 per cent lower in yesterday’s trade.
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