Markets lose steam; Nifty sees resistance at 8,000 level

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty paused for a breather on Thursday as investors booked profits in stocks that ran up in the previous two sessions.

Sentiment was also tempered by data that showed India's manufacturing activity in September slowed more than expected to a seven-month low.

Earlier in the session, Indian markets drew strength from overnight gains in Wall Street and upbeat Asian markets. Chinese financial markets are closed Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 for national holidays.

"It's primarily profit-booking. Eight thousand is a sentimental resistance for the Nifty," said Arun Gopalan, vice president research at brokerage Systematix Shares & Stocks.

"We will be in a range for sometime until (corporate earnings) results start coming in."

 

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 0.45 percent higher while the Nifty was up 0.21 percent. The Nifty touched an intraday high of 8,008.25 points, a level last seen on Sept. 22.

Selling pressure was seen in banking and auto stocks while defensives like IT and healthcare gained.

TCS and Wipro gained more than 2 percent each while Infosys was up 1.5 percent.

Among pharmaceutical stocks Sun Pharma rose 2.5 percent while Lupin gained 2.4 percent.

Meanwhile, shares in HCL Tech plunged 15 percent after the company's revenue warning.

Indian markets will remain shut on Friday on account of a local holiday.

(Reporting by Karen Rebelo; Editing by Sunil Nair)