Profit booking drags markets down

Mumbai: Stock market benchmark Sensex on Monday declined by 141 points at the close after a volatile session, dragged down by profit-booking in select IT, banking, pharma and FMCG stocks mainly in the closing session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex settled at 37,531.98 points, down by 141.33 points or 0.38 percent as 24 of its components posted losses. The barometer oscillated between the day's high of 37,919.47 and the low of 37,480.53. Broader NSE Nifty dropped by 48.35 points or 0.43 percent to close at 11,126.40 as leading IT, pharma, financials, and oil stocks retreated due to profit booking. As many as 32 of Nifty components declined.

"Market traded range-bound as investors are expecting the downward revision in GDP estimate to mirror in second-quarter earnings as well," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services commented.

Market breadth was negative with 1,629 scrips closing with losses against 892 stocks ending in green. As many as 279 stocks hit their 52-week low while 332 stocks hit their lower circuits on BSE. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices too fell up to 0.75 percent.

Sectorally, BSE healthcare, oil and gas, capital goods, basic materials, industrials, metal, realty, power, energy, IT, auto, FMCG and finance indices fell up to 2.43 percent. While BSE consumer durables, telecom and banking indices rose up to 1.06 percent. Weak cues from other Asian and European equities too weighed on investor sentiment, brokers said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Kospi settled marginally higher, while Nikkei closed in the red. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 18 paise to 71.07 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.41 percent to $58.61 per barrel. (PTI)