In choppy trade, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by 65 points on selling in bluechip counters, led by metal and auto stocks, as investors judged the recent run-up an overdone.
The 30-share BSE barometer lost 65.06 points, or 0.32 per cent, to close at 20,250.26 points. The index shuttled between 20,409.19 and 20,145.74 points during the day. It had lost 227 points in the previous session.
The BSE benchmark had risen by 12 per cent in September to cross the crucial 20,000 level after 32 months.
In the 30-BSE index components, 20 stocks fell while 10 finished with gains.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 16.85 points to close at 6,103.03.45 points.
A mixed trend in the Asian region and lower opening in Europe further influenced the trading sentiment, brokers said.
However, Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies, which carry nearly 23 per cent weightage in the Sensex, closed in the positive zone, capping the loss to some extent. RIL rose by Rs 9.75 to Rs 1,048.25, while Infosys gained Rs 22.15 to close at Rs 3,077.40.
The downward march was driven by Tata Steel, which fell by Rs 22.60 to Rs 626.95, after metal prices dropped in global markets. Six metals, including aluminum and copper, dropped by 2.3 per cent, the steepest decline since July 16, on the London Metal Exchange.
HDFC Bank, the third-largest lender, fell by Rs 28.65 to Rs 2,403.45 after being downgraded by BNP Paribas. Heavy machinery major BHEL dropped by Rs 23.35 to Rs 2,580.05.
The BSE metal sector index suffered the most losing 1.49 per cent to 17,391.94. The auto index fell by 1.30 per cent to 9,700.87, the consumer durable index by 1.08 per cent to 6,484.31 and the power index by 0.89 per cent to 3,303.61.
As selling pressure spilled over a wide-front, the midcap sector index lost 0.47 per cent to 8,330.57 and the smallcap index by 0.28 per cent to 10,512.53.
However, healthcare, IT, oil and gas and teck index participating stocks remained higher and saved the market from any major fall.
