Sensex settles below 35,000 mark

The market ended the volatile session with small losses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 108.68 points or 0.31% to 34,903.21, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 35.35 points or 0.33% to 10,593.15, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex provisionally settled below the psychologically important 35,000 mark.

Sentiment was hurt after a survey showed services activity in May shrank for the first time in three months as new orders stagnated. Caution prevailed ahead of the central bank's policy decision on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets between 4-6 June 2018 for the second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2018-2019. The resolution of the MPC will be unveiled at 14:30 pm on Wednesday, 6 June 2018.

The indices displayed some volatility in early trade and later slipped into negative terrain in morning trade. Indices hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. Indices sharply pared losses in early afternoon trade. The indices hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade.

The Sensex rose 61.23 points, or 0.17% at the day's high of 35,073.12 in early trade. The index fell 227.21 points, or 0.65% at the day's low of 34,784.68 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 30 May 2018. The Nifty rose 4.65 points, or 0.04% at the day's high of 10,633.15 in early trade. The index fell 77.60 points, or 0.73% at the day's low of 10,550.90 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 30 May 2018.

Broader market declined sharply. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.20%. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 2.43%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 533 shares rose and 2158 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Reliance Industries (up 0.94%), Tata Steel (up 0.89%), HDFC (up 0.67%), HDFC Bank (up 0.64%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.52%) and State Bank of India (up 0.19%), were the major Sensex gainers.

Coal India (down 2.62%), Bharti Airtel (down 2.08%), Larsen & Toubro (down 1.86%), Wipro (down 1.85%), Yes Bank (down 1.84%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.66%), were the major Sensex losers.

On the macro front, the Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index fell to 49.6 last month from 51.4 in April. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in activity, while a number above it signals expansion. Services activity in the country fell below the 50-point-mark for the first time since February, when the Index reading stood at 47.8.

Overseas, most European shares were trading higher. Asian markets reversed early losses and settled higher. US market posted strong gains Monday, led by a rally in the technology and consumer discretionary sectors, as traders appeared to shrug off global trade tensions and focused on a favorable economic backdrop instead.

US factory orders fell by 0.8% in April. The decline was concentrated in commercial aircraft. Orders for nondurable goods rose slightly. The increase in factory orders in March, meanwhile, was raised a tick to 1.7%.

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