Nifty falls 45 points on profit-taking

The rally in share prices witnessed over the previous four sessions came to a halt today in the wake of profit-taking by operators with the benchmark CNX Nifty falling by 45 points to close below the key 5,900 level on the National Stock Exchange.
Financials, energy, fmcg, technology, pharma and metal counters came under selling pressure while auto and infra related counters bucked the trend and attracted good buying interest.
Trading resumed today on a weak note owing to bearish tone in the overseas market and profit-taking by local operators. There was no follow-up buying seen and the sentiment was hit further after the European markets opened in red.

Most of the Asian markets, barring Hong Kong, ended lower ahead of the release of the first quarter growth data by the US.
The Nifty swung between a high of 5,907.05 and a low of 5,860.50 before ending at 5,871.45, a sharp fall of 44.85 points, or 0.76 per cent, over the last close.
HCL-Tech, Jindal Steel, Reliance, Hindunilvr, ICICI Bank, TCS, Reliance Infra, M&M, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma were among the top Nifty losers.
Maruti Suzuki topped the gainers list rallying by 5.17 per cent following robust 80 per cent rise in Q4 earnings. The shares closed at Rs 1,673.15 after touching new 52-week high in early trade. Other movers included Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Gail, HDFC, Tata Motors, Asian Paint, L&T, Hindalco and Kotak Bank.

Turnover in the cash segment dropped to Rs 11,569.96 crore from Rs 15,609.32 crore yesterday. A total of 5,747.88 lakh shares changed hands in 58,99,554 trades. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 64,12,429 crore.