Mumbai, July 14 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities Wednesday closed 47 points lower as selling pressure built up in the last session of trade, tracking European markets where investors booked profits.
The Sensex, which opened at 18,024.95 points, closed at 17,938.16 points, 47.47 points or 0.27 percent down from its previous close at 17,985.9 points.
The Sensex had hit an intra-day high of 18,167.22 points in the morning session.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty followed a similar trajectory to shut shop at 5,386.15 points, down 0.27 percent from its previous close at 5,400.65 points.
Broader markets indices also ended in the red, with the BSE midcap index 0.46 percent down and the BSE smallcap index 0.33 percent lower.
Consumer durables, capital goods and banking stocks were among the major gainers, while IT, telecom and metal scrips were under selling pressure.
Among the gainers on the Sensex were L&T, up 2.49 percent at Rs.1,882.90; SBI, up 1.5 percent at Rs.2,464.35; HDFC Bank, up 1.11 percent at Rs.2,088.35; and DLF, up 1.08 percent at Rs.319.05.
Prominent losers included M&M, down 2.44 percent at Rs.616.40; Infosys, down 1.9 percent at Rs.2,742.30; Wipro, down 1.89 percent at Rs.397.95; and ACC, down 1.75 percent at Rs.805.10.
The market breadth was negative, with 1,657 stocks declining, compared to 1,261 scrips advancing, and 125 remaining unchanged.
Other major Asian markets were on the rise, helped by a strong start to the US earnings season Tuesday.
The Japanese Nikkei closed 2.71 percent higher at 9,795.24 points with technology scrips rallying after chip-maker Intel’s results beat market expectations.
The South Korean Kospi ended 1.32 percent up at 1,758.01 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng too closed in the green at 20,560.81 points, up 0.64 percent, while the Chinese Shanghai Composite index closed 0.82 percent higher at 2,470.44 points.
European markets were quiet as investors booked some profits after last week’s gains.
In Britain, the benchmark index FTSE 100 was helped by gains in oil major BP, which helped offset losses in mining company scrips. The FTSE 100 was ruling 0.63 percent down at 5,237.82 points.
The French CAC 40 was trading 0.51 percent lower at 3,619.14 points, while its German peer the DAX was ruling flat.
