Sensex fails to step up, sinks 362 pts on profit-booking

Also, today’s 568-point rise is the second-biggest single-day gain for the BJP-led NDA government since coming to power in May 2014.

The index had risen by 728.73 points on January 15, 2015 after Reserve Bank effected a surprise 25-basis point rate cut, the first of the four policy cuts past year.

At the National Stock Exchange, too, the 50-share Nifty was trading at 7,130.85 points, lower by 32.10 points or 0.45 percent, after having opened higher at 7,201.25 points against the previous close at 7,162.95 points.

Vaibhav Agarwal, vice president and research head at Angel Broking, elaborated that global markets remained mixed with Asian indices moving up on the hopes for more central bank stimulus. “A positive opening in Europe also helped the markets”, Agarwal pointed out.

Japan’s Nikkei was quoting 1.55 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.50 percent.

Back home, mid-cap and small-cap indexes ended 3.47 per cent and 3.35 per cent higher, respectively.

Profit-booking was so strong that as many as 26 stocks out of the 30-share Sensex pack tumbled.

Major gainers were Tata Steel 9.13 per cent, SBI 6.74 per cent, Adani Ports 6.69 per cent, L&T 5.34 per cent, Axis Bank 5.12 per cent, Lupin 4.69 per cent, Coal India 4.02 per cent, ICICI Bank 3.71 per cent and RIL 3.58 per cent.

Market breadth was negative with 988 advances against 201 declines.

The S&P BSE oil and gas index swelled by 323.01 points, followed by healthcare index which buoyed by 201.67 points, information technology (IT) index edged-higher by 159.53 points, industrials index gained by 121.89 points, energy index rose by 101.17 points and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) index was up 86.03 points. The total turnover fell to Rs 3,031.74 crore from Rs 3,700.15 crore on friday.