Fag-end selloff pulls key indices lower

Mumbai: Domestic stock markets pared all intra-day gains to close with modest losses onTuesday as investors dialed down their exposure to riskier assets amid fresh border tensions with China.A sliding rupee and macroeconomic uncertainties further soured risk appetite, traders said.

The BSE Sensex overcame a choppy start to gain momentum in the afternoon session, but witnessed heavy selling in the last hour of trade. It finally closed at 38,365.35, down 51.88 points or 0.14 per cent. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 37.70 points or 0.33 per cent to finish at 11,317.35.

Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 4.13 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, ONGC, Sun Pharma, NTPC and SBI. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Infosys, Reliance Industries, TCS, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers, rising up to 2.26 per cent.

"Markets ended lower amid volatility, in continuation to the prevailing corrective phase. Though the bias was positive in the first half, the trend reversed in the last hour of trade and markets witnessed heightened selling pressure largely in response to rising tension between India and China.

Besides, the sentiment impacted by sell-off in global markets and weakness in banking stocks. We're seeing a normal correction and it is healthy for markets.

The recent dip is in line with profit-taking in the global markets. However, further escalation of border tension between India and China may deteriorate the sentiment further.