Markets snap 4-day rally as Sensex ends 452 pts lower amid profit-taking in banking stocks

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Monday after a four-day rally amid emergence of profit-taking, mainly in bank stocks.

After staying in the negative territory throughout the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex later dropped 452.44 points or 0.54 per cent to settle at 83,606.46. During the day, it tanked 576.77 points or 0.68 per cent to 83,482.13.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 120.75 points or 0.47 per cent to 25,517.05.

From the Sensex firms, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards.

However, Trent, SBI, Bharat Electronics, Titan and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.

The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.81 per cent and midcap index went up by 0.67 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty dropped 0.87 per cent, bankex (0.59 per cent), auto (0.49 per cent), metal (0.49 per cent), oil & gas (0.19 per cent) and financial services (0.17 per cent). Capital goods jumped 1.10 per cent, services (1.08 per cent), industrials (0.66 per cent), healthcare (0.56 per cent) and consumer durables (0.42 per cent).

In the past four trading days, the Sensex jumped 2,162.11 points or 2.64 per cent and the Nifty surged 665.9 points or 2.66 per cent.

The rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day in the negative territory, down 26 paise at 85.76 against the US dollar on Monday, on weak domestic equities and a bounce back in crude oil prices.