Nifty snaps four session poll-rally, down 23 pts

The Indian market snapped its four session poll-rally as profit-booking in key counters of banking, pharma, infra and energy pulled down the broader benchmark by 22.60 points, but managed to end at the important 7,250-level at the NSE here today.
Stock-specific profit-booking was seen in shares which made strong gains amid momentum generated over poll results as well as on expectation that new Modi-led government would embark upon radical market-friendly reforms.
The sentiment also overlapped with data showing Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) who were key buyers recently sold out shares worth Rs 104.53 crore yesterday, as per the provisional data with stock exchanges.

However, the bourses also witnessed buying in FMCG, IT, auto and key realty counters supported by shares of mid-cap and small-cap companies.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended mixed, while European stocks saw narrow opening.
The Nifty hit a high of 7,287.15 and a low of 7,206.70 before closing at 7,252.90, showing a loss of 22.60 points, or 0.31 per cent.

Major losers were Ultracemco 3.19 per cent, ACC 2.92 per cent, SBIN 2.67 per cent, Grasim 2.64 per cent and BHEL 2.43 per cent.
While Bajaj Auto rallied by 5.08 per cent, Mcdowell 4.87 per cent, DLF 4.56 per cent, Asian Paints 3.29 per cent and NTPC 2.39 per cent.

Other losers included BhartiAirtl, GAIL, Axis Bank, L&T and IDFC, while the gainers were Hindalco, HCL Tech, SSLT, M&M and Coal India.
Turnover in the cash segment dropped to Rs 22,652.32 crore from Rs 25,694.27 crore yesterday. A total of 16,983.91 lakh shares changed hands in 10,379,752 trades, while market capitalisation stood at Rs 81,94,825 crore.