Late selling halts record-breaking run

Mumbai: Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty halted their three-day record-hitting rally to close with losses on Friday as investors booked profit in banking, finance and tech stocks despite a positive trend in global equities. Snapping a four-session winning run, equity indices succumbed to selling pressure after mid-session when profit-taking emerged on select counters.

After hitting fresh all-time high level in early trade, the 30-share index declined 210.45 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 79,032.73. During the day, it jumped 428.4 points or 0.54 per cent to hit a fresh record peak of 79,671.58.

The Nifty went lower by 33.90 points or 0.14 per cent to 24,010.60. During the day, it climbed 129.5 points or 0.53 per cent to hit a new lifetime high of 24,174.

“Profit taking in banking stocks led the downfall in key benchmark indices, which had hit fresh intra-day highs in early optimism.

While markets displayed volatility and ended weak in late selling, both Sensex and Nifty managed to close above their psychological

levels of 79k and 24k, respectively,” Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,822.83 points or 2.36 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 509.5 points or 2.16 per cent.The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms hit an all-time high of Rs439.24 lakh crore ($5.26 trillion).

“India’s optimism about the upcoming budget and upgrade in GDP forecasts continues to provide momentum in the market. Large caps are in favour due to the comeback of FIIs. However, profit booking ensued at the end of the week, at higher levels, in financials, especially private banks, which dragged the market down after the recent rally,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

The Sensex breached the historic 79,000 mark on Thursday, and the Nifty hit the 24,000 level for the first time in intra-day trade. In the past four trading days, the BSE benchmark jumped 2,033.28 points or 2.63 per cent.

“Asian stocks rose Friday as traders looked ahead to a key report on inflation that could influence the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. European stocks mostly moved higher...with investors tensed ahead of the weekend’s French election,” said Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities.

Sensex recorded the best monthly gain in June by climbing 7.14 per cent.