Key indices retreat on profit booking

Stock markets snapped their five-day winning run on Tuesday with the benchmark Sensex declining by 199 points due to profit-taking in IT and oil shares and weak global trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 199.17 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 73,128.77 points. As many as 20 Sensex shares declined, while 10 advanced.

The key index opened lower, but staged a recovery in late-morning deals to touch its all-time intra-day high of 73,427.59 points. But the barometer failed to hold onto gains in the second half due to profit-taking in the broader market and retreated by 367.65 points or 0.50 per cent to a low of 72,960.29. The Nifty touched its all-time intra-day high of 22,124.15 before closing lower by 65.15 points or 0.29 per cent at 22,032.30.

As many as 33 Nifty shares closed in the red while 17 advanced. In the last five days, the BSE benchmark rallied 1,972.72 points or 2.76 per cent, and the Nifty jumped 584.45 points or 2.71 per cent. Both Sensex and Nifty closed at record high levels on Monday. “The broad market exhibited a profit-booking following a good performance by the IT sector amid weak global cues.