Sensex snaps 4-day rally as bulls take a breather; finance stocks wobble

Mumbai, August 12

The BSE Sensex snapped its four-session winning run to close marginally lower on Wednesday as investors pocketed gains in finance, banking and consumption stocks amid mixed global cues.

After touching a low of 38,125.81 during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex pared most losses to end 37.38 points or 0.10 per cent lower at 38,369.63.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty slipped 14.10 points or 0.12 per cent to close at 11,308.40.

Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 2.10 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, L&T, Bajaj Finance, TCS and Titan.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, SBI, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, M&M and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers, climbing as much as 4.86 per cent.

According to traders, market sentiment was weak following lacklustre macroeconomic data and concerns over rising coronavirus cases.

India’s industrial production declined by 16.6 per cent in June on account of disruption in normal business activity following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, government data showed on Tuesday.

The number of cases around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 2.02 crore, with India breaching the 23-lakh mark.

“The encouraging response to the fundraising by the lending firms has boosted the investors’ sentiment towards the banking stocks… helping the benchmark to sustain at the higher levels while other sectors are taking a breather after a substantial rally. 

“Since we’re largely mirroring the global markets,  further developments on the stimulus package announcement and US-China trade tension would be actively tracked by the participants for cues. Traders should maintain their focus on the selection of stocks as we’re still seeing enough opportunities across the board,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking.

BSE healthcare, consumer durables, metal, realty, telecom and FMCG indices fell up to 1.46 per cent, while auto, utilities, power, IT and teck closed higher.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices slipped up to 0.29 per cent.

Global equities were largely positive despite deadlock over fresh stimulus in the US and the UK slipping into its deepest recession in the June quarter.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai settled in the red.

Most stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in early deals.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.48 per cent higher at USD 45.16 per barrel.

In the forex market, the rupee slipped 5 paise to close at 74.83 against the US dollar. PTI