Closing Bell: Sensex drops 39 points, Nifty also down by 9 points

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on Monday closed marginally lower as emergence of sell-off mainly in heavyweight Reliance Industries put brake on indices’ four-session record breaking run. The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 38.88 points, or 0.09 per cent, down at 41,642.66, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 9.05 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 12,262.75.

Nestle India was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.20 per cent, on its first day as part of the index. Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 1.78 per cent after the government sought to block the company’s plan to sell stake to Saudi Aramco.

Last week, the government moved the Delhi High Court seeking to block Reliance selling 20 per cent stake in its oil and chemical business to Saudi Aramco for USD 15 billion, in view of pending dues of USD 3.5 billion in Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields. SBI, Tech Mahindra, ITC and Mahindra and mahindra were among the other losers on the index.

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex turned volatile on Monday, dropping over 150 points in opening session amid stock-specific action after a rejig of its constituents. The 30-share BSE index was trading 60.68 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 41,620.86 in early session. In the previous session, the 30-share gauge closed 7.62 points, or 0.02 per cent, higher at 41,681.54.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 12.10 points, or 0.09 per cent, to its new record of 12,271.80. Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 338.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 285.41 crore on Friday, data available with stock exchange showed.

On the other hand, gains in Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finance restricted the losses on the index. According to traders, the Sensex reshuffle led to some price movements as fund managers adjusted their portfolios. Yes Bank, Vedanta, Tata Motors and Tata Motors DVR have exited the index to make way for Titan Company, UltraTech Cement and Nestle India.

Bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended on a negative note, while those in Hong Kong and Tokyo settled in the green. Equity benchmarks in Europe were trading on a tepid note in their respective early sessions.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 4 paise against the US dollar to 71.16 (intra-day). Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.05 per cent to USD 66.11 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)