Stock mkts succumb to late sell-off; Sensex falls 114 pts

PTI New Delhi

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday due to a fag-end sell-off in blue-chip stocks HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, as concerns rose over the rupee hitting a new record low.

Elevated global crude prices tracking geopolitical uncertainties also impacted market sentiment, but robust buying in IT stocks restricted the fall in indices, traders said. 

After remaining in the positive territory for the most part of the session, the BSE Sensex suddenly came under selling pressure towards the end, declining 114.19 points, or 0.15%, to settle at 75,200.85. 

During the day, it surged 431.23 points, or 0.57%, to 75,746.27 after US President Donald Trump said he had halted fresh strikes on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, asserting that serious discussions were underway with Tehran that could lead to an acceptable deal.  The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 31.95 points, or 0.14%, to end at 23,618. 

"Domestic equity indices pared early gains to close in the red, despite an initial upswing fuelled by optimism surrounding a temporary halt in US military operations against Iran. IT stocks stood as a notable exception, registering robust advances on the back of anticipated tailwinds from an accelerating rupee depreciation and compelling valuations," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Limited, said. 

From the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were among the biggest laggards. Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Eternal and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major winners. 

"Despite a powerful rally in IT stocks and supportive global cues during the first half, benchmark indices failed to sustain higher levels as rising currency concerns, elevated crude oil prices, and aggressive derivative unwinding dragged the market lower into the close," Hariprasad K, research analyst and founder of Livelong Wealth, said.