MUMBAI: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for the second consecutive session on Monday as weak global cues and profit booking in IT and banking stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
The selling was triggered by Moody’s Ratings cutting the US sovereign credit rating by a notch, citing surging debt levels, which added to global uncertainty.
The BSE Sensex dropped 271.17 points or 0.33 per cent to end at 82059.42. It had fallen as much as 366.02 points during the day to a low of 81964.57. The NSE Nifty slipped 74.35 points or 0.30 per cent to close at 24945.45.
IT majors such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were among the top laggards, along with Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Adani Ports and Eternal.
On the other hand, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank posted gains.
Sector-wise, realty, pharma, and auto indices ended higher while IT declined over one per cent. The BSE Focused IT index fell 1.33 per cent, IT shed 1.23 per cent, teck dropped 1.07 per cent, followed by oil & gas (0.32 per cent), telecom (0.24 per cent) and capital goods (0.16 per cent).
Realty jumped 2.22 per cent, healthcare rose 0.58 per cent, utilities 0.42 per cent, auto 0.41 per cent, power 0.36 per cent and financial services 0.32 per cent.
“Markets languished in negative territory for most of the trading session as weak Asian and European indices resulted in investors resorting to profit-taking in IT, capital goods and oil & gas shares,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
Gaurav Garg, analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk, said, “Indian equity markets extended their losses for a second consecutive day, dragged down by a combination of weak global cues, sharp selling in IT stocks, and rising volatility.”
Moody’s downgrades US rating
He added that investor sentiment weakened after Moody’s downgraded the US credit rating to ‘Aa1’, citing the country’s $36 trillion debt burden.
Among broader markets, the BSE smallcap index rose 0.75 per cent and the midcap index added 0.27 per cent.
In global markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended lower, while China’s SSE Composite index closed higher. European markets were trading in the red. US stocks had ended in positive territory on Friday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.41 per cent to $65.14 a barrel.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs8831.05 crore on Friday.
On Friday, the Sensex had declined 200.15 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 82330.59, while the Nifty dropped 42.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 25019.80.
