Sensex falls 30 pts on profit-booking

The Sensex closed with a loss of 30 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 19,751.19 points on weak earnings by Bank of Baroda and IDFC. The gauge had lost nearly 224 points in last two trading sessions.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 11.65 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 5,987.25.

Brokers said investors adopted a cautious approach and refrained from enlarging their positions after reports of a fall in quarter earnings by Bank of India and IDFC Ltd.

They said the firming global trend failed to influence the market sentiment as some stocks led by ONGC surrendered fresh ground on profit-booking after the recent upsurge.

Bank of Baroda lost 7.5 per cent to Rs 802.10 after the lender posted a 21.5 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 1,011.62 crore for the quarter ended December. Similarly, IDFC fell by 5.71 per cent to Rs 158.65 also on weak earnings.

Shares of ONGC dropped by 2.08 per cent to Rs 325.55 after rising 26.3 per cent in last few session. The two most index-heavy with their 16 per cent weight Reliance Industries and Infosys fell by 0.79 per cent to Rs 886.35 and 0.31 per cent to Rs 2,762.35, respectively.

In 30-BSE index components, 20 stocks declined led by PSU, Healthcare, Power, Refinery and metal sectors.