Sensex drops 241 pts ahead of macro data releases; bank, IT stocks crack

The BSE Sensex dropped over 200 points, ending in the negative terrain for the fourth straight session Tuesday, as investors intensified selling towards the fag end of the day, even as global cues remained positive.

Realty, IT, FMCG and banking counters witnessed heavy selling ahead of index of the release of industrial production (IIP) data for December and consumer price inflation (CPI) numbers for January.

Indices failed to hold on to opening gains as profit-taking re-emerged in the later part of the session, wiping off initial gains, with the BSE Sensex settling 241.41 points, or 0.66 per cent, down at 36,153.62 points. The gauge had lost 580 points in the previous three sessions.

The broader Nifty finished at 10,831.40, down 57.40 points, or 0.53 per cent.

Top losers include Hero MotoCorp, HDFC, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Bajaj Auto and IndusInd Bank, falling up to 2.63 per cent.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Coal India, Tata Steel, NTPC, Asian Paints, Vedanta, M&M and RIL were the gainers, rising up to 2 per cent.

"The market closed the session with cuts of over half a per cent amid weak global cues and ahead of inflation and industrial output data," said Paras Bothra, President, Equity Research, Ashika Group.

"The underlying sentiment of the markets remained cautious as another round of US-China trade talks began with working-level talks in Beijing and US congressional negotiators reached an agreement in principle to fund the government and avoid another shutdown ahead of a Friday midnight deadline," he added.

Sectorally, the BSE realty index emerged as the worst performer by falling 1.29 per cent, followed by IT index shedding 0.94 per cent, teck (0.90 per cent), bankex (0.81 per cent), FMCG (0.73 per cent), auto (0.51 per cent), PSU (0.31 per cent), capital goods (0.19 per cent), power (0.08 per cent), consumer durables (0.07 per cent) and oil and gas (0.06 per cent).

While metal, healthcare and infrastructure indices ended higher up to 1.65 per cent.

In the broader markets, the small-cap index fell 0.43 per cent, and mid-caps shed 0.06 per cent.

Tepid earnings by some more companies and foreign fund outflows also dampened trading sentiments, brokers said.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 125.05 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 232.55 crore Monday, provisional data showed.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei climbed 2.61 per cent, Korea's Kospi was up 0.45 per cent, Taiwan index gained 0.93 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.68 per cent higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng too up 0.10 per cent.

European markets traded higher in their early deals. Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.99 per cent, Paris CAC 40 rose 0.72 per cent and London's FTSE was up 0.33 per cent.