Markets ended marginally lower today after nine consecutive sessions of gains owing to a fag-end rush among investors to unwind bets amid sustained foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex shed 63 points to end at 34,331.68, while the broader NSE Nifty finished 22.50 points lower at 10,526.20.
Participants were eager to take money off the table after the recent rally -- the markets' longest winning streak in over three years -- even as the wider sentiment remains positive, underpinned by upbeat macro cues and forecast of a normal monsoon, brokers said.
The BSE Sensex, after resuming higher at 34,443.42, advanced to hit a high of 34,591.81 on buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) as well as retail participants. However, investors preferred to lock in gains towards the close of the session, with the benchmark finally ending at 34,331.68, down 63.38 points, or 0.18 percent. The gauge had risen 1,375.99 points or 4.17 percent in the previous nine sessions. Likewise, the 50-stock NSE barometer Nifty finished 22.50 points, or 0.21 percent, down at 10,526.20 after hitting the day's high of 10,594.20 and a low of 10,509.70.
It had gained 420.30 points or 4.15 percent in the past nine sessions. Investor sentiment got a boost after the IMF yesterday said India is expected to grow at 7.4 percent in 2018 and 7.8 percent in 2019, leaving its nearest rival China behind.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 951.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 723.81 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
"Market took a breather after consecutive days of rally as weakening rupee and surge in yield influenced investors to book profit. Global cues remain positive supported by earnings and ease in trade tensions.
"Back home, bank index underperformed due to RBI's tightening of NPA norms while market remain in a positive territory due to better earnings and monsoon expectation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Sensex components which finished in the red were Axis Bank (2.60 per cent), M&M (1.55 per cent), IndusInd Bank (1.23 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (0.97 per cent), Coal India (0.89 per cent), Power Grid (0.81 per cent), SBI (0.79 per cent), RIL (0.71 per cent), Asian Paints (0.65 per cent), Kotak Bank (0.61 per cent), ICICI Bank (0.51 per cent), HDFC Ltd (0.42 per cent), Tata Motors (0.42 per cent), HDFC Bank (0.39 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (0.39 per cent), Bajaj Auto (0.28 per cent), Dr Reddy's (0.25 per cent), Sun Pharma (0.22 per cent) and TCS (0.20 per cent).
On the other hand, ITC emerged as the top gainer by surging 2.82 percent, followed by Wipro at 2.40 percent.
Other winners were Bharti Airtel, up 1.29 percent, Tata Steel 0.95 percent, Adani Ports 0.81 percent, NTPC 0.65 percent and ONGC 0.55 percent, cushioning the fall.
Sectorally, BSE consumer durables fell the most at 1.18 percent, followed by bankex 0.85 percent, oil and gas 0.65 percent, PSU 0.57 percent, healthcare 0.47 percent, auto 0.47 percent, IT 0.21 percent and capital goods 0.13 percent.
While FMCG rose 1.57 per cent, realty 0.49 per cent, metal 0.46 per cent, power 0.17 per cent, infrastructure 0.03 and teck 0.03 per cent.
The broader markets too succumbed to profit-booking, with the small-cap index falling 0.37 percent and mid-cap index shedding 0.07 percent.
Coming to global markets, most of the other Asian markets ended higher and European shares were up in their early deals, tracking overnight gains at the Wall Street on strong earnings and outlook.
Japan's Nikkei surged 1.42 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.74 percent and Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.80 percent.
European shares were in better shape as investors monitored a fresh batch of corporate earnings and economic data. Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.34 percent, while Paris CAC 40 rose 0.50 percent. London's FTSE gained 0.89 percent.
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