Sensex snaps four-day rally, ends 34 pts down

The Sensex, which had rallied 835 points in last four sessions, fell by 34.58 points, or 0.18 per cent to settle at 19,305.32. Last week, the gauge had posted its biggest gain in almost six months on heavy capital inflows.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty today fell by 8.90 points, 0.15 per cent to close at 5,870.95, after touching the day's low of 5,854.60.

Brokers said after a steep rise of 4.5 per cent in benchmark indices in the past week, stocks attracted profit booking and this mainly halted the strong rally.

Among Sensex stocks, the downfall today was led by banking sector as HDFC Bank, the second-largest private lender dropped 2.37 per cent.

Investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the vote on FDI. The Rajya Sabha has decided to have a discussion on December 6 and 7 on the issue, soon after the Lok Sabha which will have a similar discussion on December 4 and 5.

A weak trend in the Asian region also dampened the sentiment as reports said US lawmakers continued to debate over a budget compromise to avert a US 'fiscal cliff'.

While banking, FMCG and Tech sector indices remained in the negative zone, an upsurge in Auto, realty, metal and power sector cushioned the market to some extent.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki climbed by 1.07 per cent and Mahindra and Mahindra by 1.15 per cent after better-than-expected November sales.

Overall, 17 stocks declined while 13 gained in 30-share Sensex.