Sensex drops 173 points, snaps two-day record closing run

 ​Mumbai: Market benchmark BSE Sensex on Wednesday dropped by 173 points, snapping its two-day record-closing run largely due to losses in key energy stocks of Reliance Industries and Coal India.

The 30-share index hit an all-time intra-day high of 38,989.65 at the outset but the market lost steam as investors preferred to book gains after the recent rally. The BSE barometer touched a low of 38,679.57 points towards the fag-end before settling at 38,722.93 points, down by 173.70 points, or 0.45 per cent over the last close. Also, the NSE Nifty index in choppy movements finished lower by 46.60 points or 0.40 per cent at 11,691.90. 

Reliance Industries snapped its seven-day winning run to close down by 1.8 per cent even as its daily trading volume soared 1.5 times to 5.71 lakh against two-week average of 3.78 lakh. Coal India fell the most by 2.58 per cent among Sensex scrips, dragging the index into the negative zone. The rupee plunged to a record low of 70.57 (intra-day) to the dollar, largely on strong month-end demand from importers and banks amid weakness in other Asian currencies.  

Sentiment also took a hit after rating agency Moody's Investors Service said there are risks of India breaching the 3.3 per cent fiscal deficit target for the current financial year as higher oil prices will add to short-term fiscal pressures, brokers said. Sector wise, the BSE energy emerged as the worst performer, sliding 1.13 per cent. Metal, realty, PSU, oil & gas, infrastructure and auto indices ended in the positive zone, rising up to 1.11 per cent.