Nifty slips below 25k on profit booking

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex reversed its early gains to close lower by 398 points, while broader Nifty slipped below the 25,000 mark due to selling in Tata Motors, Reliance Industries (RIL) and L&T amid weak global trends.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 398.13 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 81,523.16. The index opened higher and touched the day’s high of 82,134.95 points in the mid-session. However, selling pressure emerged in the pre-close session and the index tanked 498.15 points or 0.60 per cent to hit a low of 81,423.14. The NSE Nifty declined 122.65 points or 0.49 per cent to 24,918.45.

“The domestic market experienced a minor consolidation in line with Asian peers due to correction of commodity prices like crude which has collapsed to $70 per barrel. Market sentiment remained cautious due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy. Investors await the release of the US CPI and domestic inflation data,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies declined to Rs4,60,76,150.02 crore (Rs460.76 lakh cr or $5.49 trn). In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.57 per cent and midcap index went lower by 0.52 per cent.

“Markets traded with volatility, losing nearly half a percent as the consolidation phase continued,” added Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Among the indices, oil & gas slumped 2.25 per cent, while metal (1.35%), utilities (1.29%), auto (1.17%), commodities (1.14%) and telecommunication (0.84%) also closed lower. Consumer Durables and FMCG were the gainers. Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Motors was the biggest loser, tumbling nearly 6 per cent, followed by NTPC, Adani Ports, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and Titan. In contrast, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. European markets were trading mostly in the green.