After trading flat on Friday, equity benchmarks closed marginally in the red on the back of poor performance by metals and capital goods sector.
The benchmark BSE Sensex closed at 22,404, down 14 points or 0.06 per cent. The Nifty too slid to settle at 6,995 mark, down 2 points or 0.02 per cent.
On the BSE, capital goods and metal sector led the fall by closing lower by 1.78 per cent and 1.41 per cent respectively.
Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL said: “The Indian equity market pared all its early gains on Friday and ended near day’s low amid selling pressure in the capital goods and metals stocks. However, the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks managed to outperform the benchmark indices. Even the healthcare, IT, consumer durables and the realty stocks ended with gains.”
“The auto stocks were in action on account of monthly sales numbers released by auto companies. Hero Motocorp and TVS Motors delivered a strong performance while heavyweights like Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto were unable to live up to market estimates,” he added.
Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services added: “The weakness continues with the high beta stocks remaining under pressure. Metal sector is likely to remain under pressure lead by weak China data and issues over Odisha mining. High beta’s like real estate and infrastructure are also expected to trade negatively in the near-term.”
Volatility was up with the volatility index closing at 33, up 8 per cent.
Tata Power, Lupin, HCL Tech, BPCL and NMDC were the top five Nifty gainers while Jindal Steel, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, L&T and Maruti were the top laggards.