Sideways trading as investors in wait n watch mode

Mumbai : Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday, dragged down by selling in blue-chip stocks Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank amid mixed global trends.

After oscillating between highs and lows during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 200.66 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 81,508.46. During the day, it moved between a high of 81,783.28 and a low of 81,411.55. The NSE Nifty dropped 58.80 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 24,619.

“Markets witnessed a range-bound session and mostly languished in negative territory due to lack of investors’ enthusiasm after last week’s rally,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.46 per cent and midcap index gained 0.32 per cent. “The rise in oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, along with investors caution ahead of key economic data like India & US CPI data and ECB policy this week, impacted the sentiment,” Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

Among sectoral indices, FMCG plunged the most by 1.93 per cent, followed by Energy (0.65%), Auto (0.64%), Healthcare (0.37%), Oil & Gas (0.34%), Bankex (0.28%) and Consumer Discretionary (0.27%).

From the 30-share pack, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints, ITC, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were among the laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were among the gainers.

Capital Goods, Industrials, Services, Telecommunication, Consumer Durables, Metals, IT and Power were among the gainers. Shares of Godrej Consumer Products plunged 8.72 per cent to close at Rs1,127.90 after the company issued a weak commentary on its business saying the demand conditions in India have been subdued for the past few months.