The Sensex fell in a turbulent trade on Thursday, erasing a two-day rise, owing mostly to selling in IT stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex slid 64.66 points or 0.10 percent to 66,408.39 points, with 14 constituents falling and 16 rising. The index opened higher and reached a high of 66,577.60 in early trade before falling to a low of 66,342.53.
The broader Nifty lost 17.35 points or 0.09 percent to settle at 19,800. During the day’s trade, it ranged from 19,772.65 to 19,843.30.
TCS, the country’s largest software exporter, saw its shares fall 1.89 percent, the day after it reported mixed quarterly results for the July-September quarter.
It reported an 8.7 percent year-on-year gain in net profit and an 8 percent increase in revenue in the September quarter, although the improvement was subdued on a sequential basis.
Infosys was the Sensex’s biggest loser, sliding 2.29 percent ahead of its financial results. HCL Technologies also lost 1.75 percent ahead of its results.
Profit-taking at Bajaj Finance, Nestle, Kotak Bank, SBI, Bharti Airtel L&T, and Asian Paints dragged on the benchmark index as well.
Maruti defied the trend, rising 1.73 percent on the back of robust retail sales in September. Power Grid, M&M. JSW Steel, and Tata Steel all made progress.
Asian markets gained ground, particularly Japan, China, and Hong Kong. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed 1.9 percent higher, the Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 1.8 percent and the Kospi in South Korea gained 1.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.9 percent.
Stock markets in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom rose as well, ahead of the release of US inflation data.
On the domestic front, Sensex rose 393.69 points or 0.6 percent to 66,473.05 on Wednesday, while Nifty advanced 121.50 points or 0.62 percent to 19,811.35.
According to the data exchange, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers on Wednesday, offloading shares worth Rs 421.77 crore.
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