Trading down on profit-taking, markets give up early gains

Equity benchmark indices rose in early trade on Thursday but eventually gave up all of their gains to trade down as profit-taking emerged despite the scheduled monthly derivatives expiry and a muted trend in the US markets.

In the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 118.2 points to 67,020.11. The Nifty gained 39.55 points to 20,136.15.

Both benchmark indices gave up all of their gains and were trading lower. The Sensex slid 214.84 points to 66,687.07 while the Nifty dropped 55.80 points to 20,040.80.

UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were the top gainers on the Sensex.

Among the laggards were Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, and NTPC.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading higher, while Seoul and Tokyo were trading lower.

On Wednesday, US markets finished lower.

Brent crude lost 0.18 percent to $82.95 per barrel.

According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased securities worth Rs 71.91 crore on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark soared 727.71 points or 1.10 percent to 66,901.91. The Nifty advanced 206.90 points or 1.04 percent to recapture the 20,000-point level after a month’s absence. It finished at 20,096.60.

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