Stock Markets Halt Rally on RIL, HDFC Bank Selling

Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Wednesday, snapping their four-day rally following selling in blue-chip stocks Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 153.09 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 81,773.66. During the day, it hit a high of 82,257.74 and a low of 81,646.08, gyrating 611.66 points.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 62.15 points or 0.25 per cent to 25,046.15.

Among Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement, Trent, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Reliance Industries were the major laggards.

However, Titan, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were among the biggest gainers.

“Key indices witnessed a volatile session, tempered by profit booking after a sharp rally. Investor caution dominated ahead of the Q2 earnings season, as market participants reassessed valuations and growth prospects,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Tuesday, as they bought equities worth Rs 1,440.66 crore, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled lower. Markets in China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.16 per cent to USD 66.21 a barrel.

On Tuesday, the Sensex went up by 136.63 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 81,926.75. The Nifty edged higher by 30.65 points or 0.12 per cent to 25,108.30.