Nifty settles April F&O expiry below 9,350; Sensex down 100 points

Maruti Suzuki fell 0.7% even after its March quarter profit grew by 15.8% to Rs 1,709 crore in Q4

Benchmark indices settled April F&P expiry lower, in a choppy session as investors take a breather after hitting record highs the previous day and booked profits.
 
Global markets also eased as a long-awaited US tax cut plan unveiled by Donald Trump on Wednesday failed to inspire investors. Street also stayed cautious waiting to hear from European Central Bank meet.
 
Nifty, yesterday hit an all-time high of 9,367 for the second straight session on Wednesday, and the benchmark Sensex too touched a record high of 30,167, surpassing its previous record set in March 2015.
 

The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 30,030, down 104 points, while the Nifty50 ended at 9,342, down 10 points. Both the indices had settled at their record closing highs in the previous session.

 
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index gained 0.07% while S&P BSE Smallcap index ended 0.02% lower.

"Market traded range bound in the expiry day, while global market remained weak due to lack of clarity in US president’s corporate tax proposals which influenced investors to take out some profit. Additionally, the outcome of ECB & BoJ policy meet today will be watched for any comments on the outlook for stimulus program," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services in a note.
 
Buzzing Stocks
 
Tata Motors, Infosys Cipla and Wipro gained the most on BSE Sensex while Lupin, ITC, Tata Steel and Axis Bank shed the most on the index.

 
Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.5% after the bank reported better-than-expected rise in net profit and net interest income.
 
Maruti Suzuki fell 0.7% even after its March quarter profit grew by 15.8% to Rs 1,709 crore compared with Rs 1,476.2 crore in same quarter last fiscal.
 
Shares of Adani Enterprises witnessed 13% surge at intraday after it was out of the F&O ban but later pared gains to end nearly 5% lower.
 
Axis Bank fell as much as 1.7% after reporting a 43% drop in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday.
 
Global Markets
 
A record-setting rally in world stocks ran out of steam on Thursday, with unconvincing US tax cut plans cooling investors' spirits and caution setting in as the European Central Bank meet.

 
Europe's main bourses were as much as 0.7% lower as traders pulled back after six days of unbroken gains fuelled by relief at the outcome of the first round of France's presidential election and encouraging earnings and economic data.
 
Asia felt groggy too. The Bank of Japan offered its most upbeat economic assessment in nine years but Asia-Pacific shares ended flat a day after hitting their highest in almost two years.