Mumbai, Dec 2 The domestic equity indices ended lower on Tuesday amid profit booking, FII outflow and concerns ahead of the RBI's key policy meet this week.
Sensex settled at 85,138.27, down 503.63 points or 0.59 per cent. The 30-share index started the session lower at 85,325.51 against last session's closing of 85,641.90. The index declined further amid selling in banking, IT, and other heavyweights, touching an intra-day low at 85,053.0.
Nifty closed at 26,032.20, down 143.55 points or 0.55 per cent.
"Domestic markets continued to witness profit booking amid worries over the weakening rupee and persistent FII outflows. Meanwhile, the NSE’s sectoral index overhaul in line with SEBI regulations led to corrections in major banking counters," said analysts.
In the near term, fading expectations of an RBI rate cut owing to strong GDP data and the uncertainty around US-India trade discussions may keep investors on edge, the analysts added.
From the Sensex basket, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, BEL, L&T, PowerGrid, Bajaj FinServ, Mahindra and Mahindra, ITC, Tata Motors PV and HCL Tech closed in the negative territory. Asian Paint, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever settled higher.
The majority of sectoral indices traded lower amid selling pressure. Nifty Fin Services fell 249 points or 0.10 per cent, Nifty Bank slipped 407 points or 0.68 per cent, Nifty Auto dipped 13 points or 0.05 per cent, and Nifty FMCG closed 109 points or 0.20 per cent lower.
"Most sectors closed in the red, with private banks and financial services leading the decline, down 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively. In contrast, the PSU Bank index gained 0.5 per cent, marking its second consecutive day of gains," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Rate-sensitive sectors — including Auto, Realty and Consumer Durables — saw profit booking amid cautious market sentiment. Monthly auto volumes for November exceeded market expectations, with wholesales showing strong post-festive growth across segments, supported by festive order backlogs and normalisation of dealer inventory, Khemka added.
Broader indices followed suit as well. Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 98 points or 0.55 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 dipped 132 points or 0.22 per cent, and Nifty 100 ended the session 126 points or 0.47 per cent higher.
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