Stock indices, on Wednesday, closed lower following concerns over continuing conflict in Iraqi and also due to profit- booking.
The BSE Sensex closed at 25313.74, down 55.16 points. The top Sensex losers included ONGC, ITC, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, L&T and Reliance while the top gainers included Bajaj Auto, Maruti and GAIL.
The NSE Nifty, too, closed lower at 7569.25, down 10.95 points.
The top Nifty losers included ITC, IDFC, ICICI Bank, ONGC and DLF.
“After the Tuesday’s up move, the markets remained in a narrow range and traded quite dull on Wednesday. It was mainly due to escalating tension in Iraq.
Besides, traders preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of expiry of June derivatives on Thursday,” said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities Limited.
“ In the present situation, it is best to opt for stock specific approach and maintain strict risk management rules to avoid unmanageable losses,” he added.
Auto stocks rallied in the last 20 minutes of the trading session on Finance Minister’s announcement that the lower excise duty for the sector would continue till December, 2014.
Rupee steadyThe rupee recovered from one month’s low following fresh dollar inflows, and closed almost flat at 60.12 a dollar on Wednesday as compared to 60.13 on Tuesday.
The Indian currency opened at 60.23, 10 paise down from the previous close of 60.13 and touched intraday low of 60.39.
