Market breaks 4-day climb ahead of Economic Survey, budget

The Sensex today recorded its first drop in five sessions, edging down 33 points, after investors took profit and adopted a cautious line ahead of the Economic Survey and the Union budget amid weak global leads.

The Economic Survey is due to be released tomorrow and the budget on Wednesday. A lower closing in Asia and a muted opening in Europe amid concerns over President Donald Trump's controversial immigration move induced fear, traders said.

The 30-share barometer opened a shade lower and settled down 32.90 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 27,849.56. The index had risen  847.96 points in the past four sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty too dropped 8.50 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 8,632.75. Intra-day, it traded between 8,617.75 and 8,662.60. The uptrend in the previous four sessions came on the back of fresh foreign inflows and enthusiasm of domestic investors amid optimism ahead of the budget and on better-than-estimated earnings by several banks and other companies.

Tata Motors took the biggest hit, plunging 2.18 per cent, followed by Tata Steel (1.56 per cent). ONGC, SBI, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, TCS, Coal India, HDFC Bank, ITC Ltd, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Wipro, Adani Ports and Axis Bank lost too.

The country's largest mortgage lender, HDFC Ltd, also ended 0.13 per cent down at Rs 1,368.90 despite a 12.80 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,728.66 crore for the third quarter ended December.

Aditya Birla group's Idea Cellular zoomed by more than 25 per cent after global telecom giant Vodafone today said it is in discussion with the company to merge its India mobile business.

Out of the 30, 19 Sensex stocks ended with losses, but 11 rose, keeping the fall in check. Among gainers, Bharti Airtel, RIL, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Infosys, Dr Reddy's, Lupin, GAIL and L&T rose by up to 7.48 per cent.

It was a lacklustre trade at other Asian markets, with most being closed for a public holiday. Japan's Nikkei declined 0.51 per cent. Elsewhere in Europe, shares were down in early trade, with London's FTSE falling 0.71 per cent, Paris CAC 40 0.78 per cent and Frankfurt 0.57 per cent.

Speaking sectorally, the BSE auto index got much hammering, down 0.88 per cent, followed by banking 0.76 per cent, PSU 0.69 per cent and power 0.58 per cent.
Broader markets painted a mixed picture. The mid-cap index firmed up 0.28 per cent while small-cap finished 0.32 per cent down.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased shares to the tune of Rs 211.77 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.