Sensex Falls 200 pts: FMCG, PSU Bank Shares Drag

Mumbai, Dec 9 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday, dragged down by selling in blue-chip stocks Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank amid mixed global trends.

After oscillating between highs and lows during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 200.66 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 81,508.46. During the day, it moved between a high of 81,783.28 and a low of 81,411.55.

The NSE Nifty dropped 58.80 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 24,619.

From the 30-share pack, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints, ITC, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were among the laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were among the gainers.

"Markets witnessed a range-bound session and mostly languished in negative territory due to lack of investors' enthusiasm after last week's rally," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.46 per cent and midcap index gained 0.32 per cent.

"The rise in oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, along with investors caution ahead of key economic data like India & US CPI data and ECB policy this week, impacted the sentiment," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Among sectoral indices, FMCG plunged the most by 1.93 per cent, followed by Energy (0.65 per cent), Auto (0.64 per cent), Healthcare (0.37 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.34 per cent), Bankex (0.28 per cent) and Consumer Discretionary (0.27 per cent).

Capital Goods, Industrials, Services, Telecommunication, Consumer Durables, Metals, IT and Power were among the gainers.

Shares of Godrej Consumer Products plunged 8.72 per cent to close at Rs 1,127.90 after the company issued a weak commentary on its business saying the demand conditions in India have been subdued for the past few months.

On the other hand, tyre maker CEAT rallied over 10 per cent to settle at Rs 3404.45 after the company said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Michelin to acquire its Camso brand's Off-highway Tyres (OHT) and tracks business for about USD 225 million (Rs 1,905 crore).

During the day, CEAT shares advanced 12.10 per cent to hit 52-week high of Rs 3,466.40 on the bourse.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai settled lower, while Tokyo and Hong Kong ended in the green.

European markets were trading in higher. US markets ended higher on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.89 per cent to USD 71.75 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned sellers on Friday after remaining net buyers for the past three straight session. They sold equities worth Rs 1,830.31 crore, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 56.74 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 81,709.12, while NSE Nifty dipped 30.60 points to settle at 24,677.80.