Mumbai :The longest winning streak since mid-June came to an end today as the market benchmark Sensex tanked by 190 points to fall below the 27,000-mark, tracking weakness in other Asian markets amid investors waiting for the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting.
Traders said caution was also seen after the index zoomed by 1,419.01 points in the previous six sessions.
The rally, since September 29, was triggered by Reserve Bank’s bigger-than-expected 0.50 per cent rate cut, which was followed by heightened hopes of a delay in the US rate hike.
“With the week light on data, markets tuned in on the minutes of FOMC’s September meeting due late in the day. This gave investors a reason to take profits from recent gains,” said Anand James, Co-Technical Head Research Desk at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
Global markets were down as investors awaited minutes from the Fed’s last meeting for clues on the timing of a rate hike.
The upcoming earnings season with Infosys due to post July-September results on October 12 and macroeconomic data including inflation and industrial output next week, also forced players to opt for a cautious stance.
The BSE Sensex after rising to 27,120.11 at the outset, slipped into the negative zone to touch a low of 26,762.36 as participants trimmed positions at higher levels before ending at 26,845.81 — a fall of 190.04 points or 0.70 per cent.
From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries was the biggest loser with a of 2.70 per cent, followed by GAIL 2.52 per cent.
“Reliance Industries were in news today after the ongoing probe in its dispute with ONGC was seen turning against RIL,” said Achin Goel Head of Wealth Management and Financial Planning at Bonanza Portfolio.
Moreover, ITC, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, M&M, Lupin, TCS, Bajaj Auto, L&T, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank and Cipla tanked up to 2.06 per cent.
The 50-share NSE Nifty also succumbed to profit-booking and ended 48.05 points or 0.59 per cent lower at 8,129.35 after moving between 8,196.75 and 8,105.85 during the day.
From Asia, China ended higher by 2.97 per cent, catching up to a rally in global equities as trading resumed after a week-long break. South Kored inched up by 0.68 per cent while indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan moved down by 0.50 per cent to 0.99 per cent.
Europe was lower on weak exports data from Germany and caution ahead of the release of the minutes from the last meeting of the US Federal Reserve. Key indices in France and germany eased by 0.04 per cent to 0.32 per cent while UK’s FTSE was quoted higher by 0.01 per cent.
PTI