Markets take a break after 3-day rally; Nifty slips 19 points

After a three-session rally, equities succumbed to modest profit booking today as investors turned cautious ahead of key economic data, leading the benchmark CNX Nifty to fall by 19 points on the NSE today.
Bullish mood across the world financial markets after major central banks jumped on the global stimulus bandwagon to battle economic headwinds as well as record foreign fund flows had largely triggered the current round of rally.
Heavyweights from pharma, financials, metal, energy, and auto sectors witnessed heavy selling pressure. However, technology counters posted good gains mainly on the back of Cognizant's optimistic revenue guidance.
After a good start in the backdrop of buoyant global cues and firm buying in technology and select bluechip shares, market suddenly turned choppy as caution set in following recent upsurge. The key index was range-bound throughout the day amidst volatility before concluding with modest losses.

The sentiment reflected apprehensions of traders and investors ahead of key macroeconomic data, including retail inflation and IIP numbers tomorrow, traders said.
Globally, most Asian stocks retreated from their multi -years highs, snapping a four-session winning streak, after a sudden spike in Chinese inflation data dampened hopes of fresh easing measures. European markets opened lower ahead of the Bank of England's policy statement.

Meanwhile, Wall Street extended its relentless record- breaking rally with both Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 indices closing at historic highs, boosted by robust corporate earnings and optimism over macro economic growth.
The Nifty hit a high of 6,084.70 and a low of 6,040.45 before ending at 6,050, registering a loss of 19.15 points, or 0.32 per cent, over the last close.

Jindal Steel, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, NMDC, Axis Bank, Sesa Goa, Cipla, Ranbaxy, Reliance and DLF were among the top losers from the 50-share index. Notable gainers were PNB, HCL Tech, Ambuja Cement, SBIN, Reliance Infra, Bank of Baroda, TCS, UltraTech, Hindalco and M&M.
Turnover in the cash segment improved to Rs 10,085.46 crore from Rs 10,029.86 crore yesterday. A total of 5,562.62 lakh shares changed hands in 50,60,231 trades. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 66,02,786 crore.