Equity indices trade in red on profit booking

Key Indian equity indices traded in the red during the mid-afternoon session on Tuesday as negative Asian indices as well as profit booking in oil and gas and consumer durables stocks kept investors' sentiments subdued.

Index heavyweights like ONGC, Power Grid, NTPC, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank traded lower on the BSE market breadth.

At 12.35 p.m., the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded lower by 16 points or 0.15 per cent at 10,383.55 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 33,726.65 points, traded at 33,652.50 points -- down 71.94 points or 0.21 per cent -- from its Monday's close.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 33,742.04 points and a low of 33,639.32 during intra-day trade.

However, the BSE market breadth was bullish -- 1,418 advances and 1,089 declines.

"Indian markets opened flat on Tuesday on profit taking. Investor confidence in China was on a decline due to rising bond yields," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.

On Monday, the benchmark indices closed in the green on expectations of further economic reforms, along with short covering, although negative global indices and volatility ahead of derivatives expiry capped gains.

The NSE Nifty50 gained just 9.85 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 10,399.55 points, while the BSE Sensex closed at 33,724.44 points -- up 45.20 points or 0.13 per cent.

--IANS

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