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The Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower due to profit-booking by funds and retail investors in IT and TECk stocks, but the decline was capped by gains in Tata Steel on expectations of strong quarterly results.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended lower by 51.74 points or 0.16 per cent at 32,273.67 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 9 points or 0.09 per cent at 10,057.40.
Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas index gained the most by 1.6 per cent, followed by PSU 1.4 per cent, realty 1.4 per cent and infrastructure 1.24 per cent. On the other hand, IT index fell the most by 0.94 per cent and TECk 0.83 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Steel (+4.26%), State Bank of India (+1.85%), Adani Ports (+1.59%), ICICI Bank (+1.28%) and Coal India (+0.84%), while the major losers were Infosys (-1.75%), NTPC (-1.64%), Dr Reddy's (-1.51%), M&M (-1.34%) and Tata Motors (-1.07%).
Both the NSE index and BSE index hit record highs last week, raising concerns that factors such as positive earnings and hopes of an improving economy were already factored into prices.
“Predominantly, we're not expecting a major upswing or downswing in the market. Investors are a little cautious, taking into account the valuations which have already moved to the higher end of the spectrum,” said Teena Virmani, vice president, Kotak Securities.
Shares of Tata Steel jumped as the company is expected to post a consolidated profit for the quarter-ended June, compared with a loss last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The Nifty Bank index ended 0.32 per cent higher. The index lost 1.2 per cent since last Tuesday as investors were disappointed after India's central bank maintained a “neutral” stance despite cutting interest rates by 25 basis points.
The Nifty IT index ended lower by 0.74 per cent. Infosys and TCS led the losses with both falling by 1.75 per cent and 0.72 per cent, respectively.
Early trade
The benchmark BSE Sensex continued its rising trend by gaining over 61 points to 32,386.52 in early tradeon sustained foreign fund inflows amid positive global cues.
The 30-share index rose 61.11 points or 0.18 per cent to 32,386.52. The gauge had gained 87.53 points in the previous session. Also, the NSE Nifty was quoting 19.10 points or 0.19 per cent higher at 10,085.50.
Brokers said sentiment remained positive on the back of persistent capital inflows by foreign funds and widening of positions by retail investors. Besides, a firm trend in other Asian markets after strong US jobs numbers provided relief to investors too influenced the sentiment here.
Asian stocks advanced on Monday, taking their cue from Wall Street, while the dollar moderated but retained most gains made on stronger-than-expected July jobs growth and the promise of a US tax plan that will repatriate corporate profits.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.6 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at its eighth straight record high on Friday, with gains in JPMorgan Chase and other banks after data showed US employers hired more workers than expected in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to end at 22,092.81, an all-time high. The S&P 500 gained 0.19 per cent to 2,476.83 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.18 per cent to 6,351.56.
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