Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower; L&T and financial stocks fall

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty gave up early gains to end ma­rginally lower on Tuesday, tracking losses in financial stocks despite a firm trend in global markets.

A weakening rupee and selling by foreign investors also weighed on Dalal Street, traders said.

Falling for the third session on the trot, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 31.12 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 50,363.96. The broader NSE Nifty slipped 19.05 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 14,910.45.

L&T was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.56 per cent, followed by ICIC Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Finserv.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s, HUL, HCL Tech, TCS and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers, spurting up to 4.87 per cent.

Domestic equities gave up initial gains and traded flat towards the final hours of the day despite favourable cues from global equities, said Binod Modi - Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.