Markets back in red amid profit booking

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit fresh lifetime high levels before closing flat due to profit-taking in select banking and telecom shares amid mixed global cues on Tuesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 34.74 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 79,441.45 in a volatile trade. During the day, it jumped 379.68 points or 0.47 per cent to hit a record peak of 79,855.87. The Nifty declined by 18.10 points or 0.07 per cent to 24,123.85. Intra-day, it climbed 94.4 points or 0.39 per cent to hit a lifetime high of 24,236.35.

“The domestic market took a breather, resonating with the mixed global trend, with the ECB showing caution regarding further rate cuts. Recent spikes in US Treasury yields and a gradual rise in crude oil prices are affecting market trends. Investors are closely monitoring the progress of monsoon, the forthcoming Union budget, alongside the US election, which can have potential global economic implications,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.57 per cent, while smallcap index went up marginally by 0.07 per cent. “Markets had touched fresh highs in early trade on fresh optimism but failed to capitalise on it and slipped into the red. Weak European cues coupled with a negative sentiment in Dow Futures fuelled profit-taking in banking, telecom and auto shares,” Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.