Nifty below 7,600-level, drops 68 points on Q4 worries

The benchmark Nifty slid to a three-week low by 67.90 points to mark below the key 7,600-level on profit-booking in recent outperformers in FMCG and IT counters amid caution ahead of Q4 results and mixed global cues.
The key indices opened higher, but soon turned choppy amid selling pressure and market players resorted to profit- booking in recently outperformed shares as uncertainty crept ahead of the start of the earning season, the index traded in negative zone and slumped to the day's low of 7,535.85 before ending in red.
Other than IT and FMCG segments, Banking sector including PSU banks continued its bearishness followed by Auto, Infra and Metal counters, the broader midcap and small- cap shares also saw profit-booking. While Pharma segment showed buying interest.

Elsewhere, Asian market witnessed a mixed trend. While European stocks trading lower as gains in healthcare shares were eclipsed by some weaker stocks.
The NSE 50-share index resumed higher at 7,630.40 and hovered between 7,630.75 and 7,535.85 before closing at 7,546.45, showing a loss of 67.90 points or 0.89 per cent.
Major losers were Tata Power (3.91 per cent), Adani Port (3.37 per cent), Maruti (2.86 per cent), HDFC (2.83 per cent), L&T (2.39 per cent), ITC (1.98 per cent) and Relinfra (1.49 per cent).

The gainers included BHEL (4.70 per cent), Coal India (2.05 per cent), Lupin (1.66 per cent), Dr Reddy (1.14 per cent) and AuroPharma (1.01 per cent).

A total of 922 shares declined, while 617 gained and 75 ruled steady.
Turnover in cash segment rose to Rs 15,019.43 crore from Rs 14,644.16 crore yesterday.
A total of 9,313.53 lakh shares changed hands in 66,84,336 trades. The market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 91,74,405 crore.