Sensex, Nifty Fall in Early Trade: Market Update

Mumbai, Feb 20 (PTI) Equity market opened on a lacklustre note on Tuesday, with Sensex declining nearly 80 points tracking muted trends in Asian stocks and fading expectations of early interest rate cuts globally.

After gaining for five straight sessions, the 30-share Sensex dropped 0.11 per cent or 79.66 points to 72,628.50 points and 16 constituents were in the red, with Mahindra & Mahindra falling over 1 per cent.

The broader Nifty too was trading in the red, slipping 0.15 per cent or 34.15 points to 22,088.10 points. As many as 28 scrips in the Nifty pack were in the negative territory.

"Asian shares were pinned below 1-1/2 month highs on Tuesday as even a larger-than-expected interest rate cut in China failed to excite investors jaded at the lack of bigger stimulus measures. Nifty ended higher for the fifth straight session, after hitting an all-time high on the intraday charts," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said.

Recording gains for the fifth consecutive trading session on Monday, Nifty closed at an all-time high of 22,122.25 points, up by 81.55 points or 0.37 per cent while Sensex climbed 281.52 points or 0.39 per cent to end the day at 72,708.16 points.

On Monday, globally, shares struggled after hopes of early interest rate cuts faded, and US markets were closed.

"European markets and the FTSE were mixed on Monday in London, as the fallout from last week's UK GDP data -- and the news that the UK fell into a recession at the end of last year -- continues to reverberate," Jasani said.

On Monday, when the domestic market closed higher for the fifth straight session, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net sellers as they offloaded shares worth Rs 754.59 crore, according to exchange data.

Jasani noted that markets could now correct or consolidate for some time before Nifty prepares for the next up move and that Nifty could face resistance from 22,187 level while 21,954 level could offer support in the near term.