Stock markets snap 2-day rally on profit-taking in banking shares; Sensex drops nearly 625 pts

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday, snapping the two-day rally after profit-taking in banking, IT and auto shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 624.82 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 81,551.63, in a volatile session. During the day, the barometer tanked 1,054.75 points or 1.28 per cent to 81,121.70.

The 50-issue NSE Nifty declined 174.95 points or 0.70 per cent to 24,826.20.

Investors turned cautious ahead of the release of industrial and manufacturing production data for April on Wednesday and the first quarter GDP numbers, scheduled to be announced later this week, experts said.

From the Sensex firms, UltraTech Cement fell the most by 2.21 per cent, followed by ITC which declined 2.01 per cent. Tata Motors, NTPC, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Eternal were among the laggards.

IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Nestle and Asian Paints were the gainers.

"The domestic market witnessed volatility and snapped a two-day rally, as investors opted for profit booking driven by valuation concerns and weakness across Asian markets," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said.

Mid- and small-cap segments remained relatively resilient, supported by better than estimated Q4 earnings and moderation in premium valuation, Nair added.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index settled in the negative territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended higher. Markets in Europe were trading in the green. US markets were shut on Monday for Memorial Day.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 135.98 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.51 per cent to USD 65.07 a barrel.

The BSE Sensex jumped 455.37 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 82,176.45 on Monday. The Nifty climbed 148 points or 0.60 per cent to 25,001.15.