Markets snap 3-day rally, settle marginally lower

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices snapped three days of rally to settle marginally lower on Tuesday amid weak trends in Asian and European markets along with unabated foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 16.29 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 64,942.40. During the day, it declined 320.59 points or 0.49 per cent to 64,638.10.

The Nifty slipped 5.05 points or 0.03 per cent to 19,406.70.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel were the major laggards.

Sun Pharma, NTPC, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were the major gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.53 per cent and smallcap index advanced 0.38 per cent.

Among the indices, realty declined 1.21 per cent, auto dipped 0.19 per cent, consumer durables (0.08 per cent), metal (0.04 per cent) and teck (0.03 per cent).

Oil & Gas jumped 1.11 per cent, healthcare climbed 1.06 per cent, bankex (0.49 per cent), energy (0.45 per cent) and services (0.22 per cent).

The rupee settled lower by 5 paise at 83.26 against the US dollar in a range-bound trade on Tuesday, tracking a strong American currency overseas and sustained foreign fund outflows.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.12 per cent to $83.37 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 549.37 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.