Markets fall after 2-day rally; HDFC twins, Reliance drag Sensex over 413 points lower

Mumbai, May 16 (PTI) Benchmark equity indices ended lower on Tuesday after two days of rally, dragged down by index majors HDFC twins and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 413.24 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 61,932.47 even after beginning the trade on a firm note. During the day, it fell 498.3 points or 0.79 per cent to 61,847.41.

The NSE Nifty went lower by 112.35 points or 0.61 per cent to end at 18,286.50.

Among the Sensex firms, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries and Maruti were the biggest laggards.

Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Asian Paints and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major gainers.

In Asia, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong markets ended in the green, while Shanghai settled lower.

European markets were trading mostly in the green. The US market had ended with gains on Monday.

“The domestic benchmark’s ascent towards record high was interrupted by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks, although small and mid-cap stocks outperformed. As anticipated, the Euro zone economy experienced a modest growth of 0.1 per cent QoQ in the Jan-Mar period, following a stagnant previous quarter. In the US market, cautious trading prevailed as debt-ceiling negotiations took precedence,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.65 per cent to USD 74.82 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Monday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,685.29 crore, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 317.81 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 62,345.71 on Monday. The broader NSE Nifty gained 84.05 points or 0.46 per cent to end at 18,398.85.