Sensex, Nifty slip amid profit-taking, weak Asian markets

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday amid profit-taking and weak trends in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 150.68 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 84,628.16. During the day, it fell by 559.45 points or 0.65 per cent to 84,219.39.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 29.85 points or 0.11 per cent to 25,936.20.

"The Nifty-50 traded within a narrow 25,800–26,000 range for most of the day, reflecting cautious sentiment ahead of key global events such as the US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Indian equities witnessed a volatile expiry session but managed to close on a resilient note, as both the Nifty-50 and Bank Nifty staged a sharp recovery in the final half hour of trade, he added.

From the Sensex firms, Trent, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were among the major laggards.

However, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower.

Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.

US markets ended in the positive territory on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 55.58 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) however, bought stocks worth Rs 2,492.12 crore in the previous trade.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.78 per cent to USD 64.42 a barrel.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 566.96 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at 84,778.84. The Nifty climbed 170.90 points or 0.66 per cent to 25,966.05.