Sensex, Nifty Settle Modestly Lower

As Indian shares drifted lower, due largely to profit taking after recent gains, the benchmark indices Sensex and the Nifty50 came off record highs and settled with losses on Monday.

Weak global cues, and a lack of fresh positive triggers from the domestic front prompted investors to lighten their commitments a bit. Also, with a holiday ahead and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement due on Wednesday, traders appeared a bit reluctant to make significant moves.

The BSE benchmark Sensex ended with a loss of 241.79 points or 0.36% at 67,596.84, while the broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange settled at 20,133.30 with a loss of 59.05 points or 0.29%.

PSU bank stocks were in demand. A few top stocks from automobile and consumer durables sectors rallied as well. Metal, realty and media stocks closed weak.

Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank and PSB soared 14.3%, 13.4% and 11%, respectively. Central Bank of India surged 8% and Maharashtra Bank gained 5.1%. Indian Bank, PNB, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Canada Bank also closed sharply higher, while sector heavyweight State Bank of India advanced 0.7%.

Among automobile stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra gained about 2.3%, while TVS Motor, Hero Motocorp and Tata Motors gained about 1.5%, 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively. Bajaj Auto ended 0.9% up.

Consumer durables stocks Kajaria Ceramics and Titan gained 3.1% and 2.7%, respectively.

Hindustan Copper, Hindalco, National Aluminium, Adani Enterprises, Jindal Steel, Hind Zinc and Tata Steel were the prominent losers in the metal sector.

Realty stocks Godrej Properties, Lodha Enterprises, Indiabulls Real Estate, Mahindra Lifespace and Brigade Enterprises ended lower by 1.7 to 2.5%.

Power Grid Corporation climbed about 3%. NTPC gained 2.1% and Bajaj Finserv ended higher by 1.35%.

HDFC Life surged nearly 2.5%. BPCL and Britannia gained 2.3% and 1.5%, respectively.

HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, Wipro and Kotak Bank lost 1 to 2%. Reliance Industries ended nearly 1% down.

Adani Ports, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement and Divi’s Laboratories also ended notably lower.

Jupiter Life Line Hospitals made a strong debut. The stocks settled at Rs 1,075.25 on BSE, a hefty 46.3% preimium to its IPO price.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 2,084 stocks ended lower, and 1,693 stocks moved up, while 170 stocks ended flat.

On the economic front, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed India posted a merchandise trade deficit of $24.2 billion in August, the largest gap in ten months, due to higher oil prices and a weaker rupee. Imports were down 5.2% year-on-year to 58.64 billion, while imports dropped by 6.9% to 34.48 billion.