Markets halt 3-day rally; Sensex falls 359 pts, Nifty ends below 16,600

Equity benchmarks declined on Tuesday after a three-day rally, with the Sensex falling 359.33 points amid selling in index majors HDFC, Reliance Industries and Infosys.

Investors were cautious ah­ead of release of GDP data, whi­le a jump in crude oil prices al­so weighed on market sentim ent, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex went lower by 359.33 points or 0.64 per cent to settle at 55,566.41. During the day, it tanked 556.6 points or 0.99 per cent to 55,369.14.

The broader NSE Nifty declined 76.85 points or 0.46 per cent to end at 16,584.55.

From the Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC, Infosys, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. In contrast, M&M, NTPC, Power Grid and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled with gains, while Tokyo ended marginally lower. Markets in Europe were trading mostly lower during the afternoon trade. Stock markets in the US were closed for a holiday on Monday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.64 per cent to $123.66 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 502.08 crore on Monday, as per stock exchange data.