Closing Bell: Sensex Closes 141 Points Lower, Nifty Also Loses 48 Points

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex declined by 141 points after a volatile session on Monday, dragged down by losses in index heavyweights ITC, TCS, L&T, HDFC twins and Infosys amid weak global cues. After swinging 439 points during the day, the 30-share Sensex ended 141.33 points, or 0.38 per cent, lower at 37,531.98. It hit an intra-day low of 37,480.53 and a high of 37,919.47.

The broader NSE Nifty dropped 48.35 points, or 0.43 per cent, to close at 11,126.40. Top laggards in the Sensex pack included ONGC, ITC, Tata Steel, M&M, Tata Motors, L&T, TCS, Sun Pharma, NTPC, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra, falling up to 2.97 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, Sensex had ended 433.56 points or 1.14 per cent lower at 37,673.31, while the Nifty plunged 139.25 points or 1.23 per cent to close at 11,174.75.

The rupee, meanwhile, depreciated 19 paise against its previous close to trade at 71.07 in early session. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading on a negative note, while those in Seoul were trading a tad higher.

Top Sensex losers in early session included IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Bajaj Finance, TCS, M&M, Tata Motors and NTPC, shedding up to 2.15 per cent. On the other hand, top gainers were Yes Bank, HDFC twins, Vedanta, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank, rising up to 4 per cent.

Bucking the trend, shares of Yes Bank rallied over 8 per cent on Monday on prospects of fresh investments in the company. Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Finance also rose up to 2.53 per cent.

According to experts, market has been witnessing profit-booking post the recent rally on account of corporate tax cut. The cut in repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India also did not inspire confidence in investors, given the sharp downgrade in economic growth forecast. Weak cues from other Asian and European equities too weighed on investor sentiment, they said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Kospi settled marginally higher, while Nikkei closed in the red. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday. Equities in Europe were trading lower in early sessions. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 18 paise to 71.07 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.41 per cent to USD 58.61 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)