Extending its fall for the ninth consecutive session, the BSE Sensex gave up early gains to end 146 points lower on February 19, 2019, dragged down by IT stocks amid strong foreign fund outflows.
Lacklustre cues from other Asian and European markets too weighed on investor sentiment, analysts said.
After a 489-point intra-day swing, the 30-share index settled 145.83 points, or 0.41 per cent lower at 35,352.61. The broader NSE Nifty fell 36.60 points, or 0.34%, to 10,604.35.
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TCS and Infosys were the top losers in the Sensex pack, falling up to 3.39%.
Other losers were NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, HUL, Maruti and PowerGrid, shedding up to 2.34%. On the other hand, Vedanta, ICICI Bank, ONGC, M&M, L&T, Tata Steel, SBI, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel and ITC were among the gainers, rising up to 3.38%.
Sectorally, BSE IT index lost the most, shedding 2.09%, followed by power and utilities.
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“The fall was mainly due to the sudden fall in the IT stocks like TCS, Wipro and Infosys,” said Joseph Thomas, head, research - Emkay Wealth Management.
There is a certain level of inaction stemming from the European economic numbers indicating a slowdown in growth, and an enhanced rhetoric in the sub-continent on the Indo-Pak relations, he added.
Metal, telecom, auto and realty indices, however, ended in the green, rising up to 1.66%. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed benchmark indices, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap rising up to 0.55%.
Investor sentiment also turned negative on heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), said traders.
FIIs sold shares worth a net ₹1,239.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of ₹2,336.74 crore on Monday, provisional data available with BSE showed.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.42% and Korea’s Kospi fell 0.24%. Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.09% up and Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.04%.
In the Eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.12%, Paris CAC 40 fell 0.40%, and London’s FTSE shed 0.55% in early deals. Meanwhile, the domestic currency derivatives markets were closed on account of Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti.
Brent crude futures were trading 0.29% lower at $66.31 per barrel.