The benchmark BSE Sensex on Thursday fell by 155 points to 27,735.02 as government’s clarification on taxation policies failed to soothe nerves of investors, leading to profit taking in blue-chip stocks such as SBI.
Muted earning numbers, forecast of a below-normal monsoon and fading hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank weighed on sentiments. Moreover, participants decided to play safe ahead of Q4 result by IT bellwether Infosys on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha said that “clarificatory amendments to MAT rules are under consideration of the government.”
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“FII’s concerns still remains as they continued to be net sellers even after the government’s clarification,” said Vinod Nair, head - fundamental research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
The 30-share Sensex resumed higher at 27,977.27 and shot up to regain the 28,000-mark in early trade on the back of firming global cues. However, the index failed to hold onto initial gains due to intense selling pressure in the last 90 minutes and slumped to 27,621.18 before ending at 27,735.02, a fall of 155.11 points or 0.56 per cent.
“Though we saw an initial uptick in the benchmark, but lack of sustainability at higher levels, triggered profit taking across the board. In absence of any major cues, stocks were also traded subdued and hovered in both directions,” said Jayant Manglik, president - retail distribution at Religare Securities.
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This is Sensex’s sixth fall in last seven sessions.
Also, the NSE Nifty ended 31.40 points or 0.37 per cent down at 8,398.30 after hitting the day’s high of 8,504.95 and a low of 8,361.85 during the session. On the Sensex, Sun Pharma suffered the most by falling 2.55 per cent to Rs. 942.45.
Other losers included, SBI, Tata Motors, NTPC, M&M, ONGC, Dr Reddy’s, L&T, Infosys, Wipro and RIL.
On 30-share index, as many as 19 scrips ended lower. Contrary to the market sentiment, shares of metal and consumer durable segments were in the limelight. Tata Steel was the top gainer with a rise of 5 per cent after a report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) rated Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel & Power as ‘buys’.