Sensex declines 154 pts; SBI, ICICI Bank take a hit

Volatility marked the day's trade as there were alternate bouts of buying and selling. Unicon Financial Chief Executive Gajendra Nagpal said, "Good IIP numbers was discounted today as market had moved up quite a lot in the past trading sessions. The correction seen in the market will only be short lived as there is still ample liquidity into the system."

He further added that the rally witnessed yesterday lacked fundamentals, but today when the industrial output data was good market discounted it as it was in expected lines.
Profit-booking emerged in shares across realty, metal, banking, PSU and FMCG shares. Banking majors SBI and ICICI Bank lost 3.51 per cent and 3.20 per cent respectively.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share Sensex settled the day at 16,696.03, marking a fall of 153.57 points or 0.91 per cent from its previous close.

However, IT stocks Wipro, TCS and Infosys found favour among investors. While Wipro and TCS rose by more than 1 per cent, Infosys also gained 0.61 per cent. Brokers said IT stocks looked bright despite the US dollar recovering against other currencies in the overseas market.

Nagpal, however, said a strengthening US dollar has brought about a sort of dampness in the Asian markets and European markets too remained under pressure. Hang Seng is down 1.01 per cent, Shanghai 0.07 per cent and Nikkei 0.68 per cent.