Stock Market: Sensex Slips 216 Points, Nifty Ends At 18,755. PSU Banks Lead, Realty Drags

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, HUL, ICICI Banks, Airtel were the prime losers on the bourses, down between 1 per cent and 4 per cent

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday closed in the red in a volatile session. The two indices in the morning missed touching record high levels by a whisker as investors booked profit at higher level. The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit a high of 63,574.69 during the day eventually settled at 63,168, down 216 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty, after hitting an intra-day high of 18,881.45, ended at 18,755, down 71 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, HUL, ICICI Banks, Airtel were the prime losers on the bourses, down between 1 per cent and 4 per cent. On the flip side, Bajaj twins, TechM, Sun Pharma, TCS, Titan emerged gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index dipped 0.08 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index added 0.24 per cent.

Sectorwise, auto, bank, realty, power, capital goods, realty, and FMCG down 0.5 per cent each. The Nifty Private Bank index also dropped about 1 per cent, while PSU bank index rose 1 per cent and IT stocks added 0.4 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, the BSE benchmark ended with a gain of 467 points or 0.74 per cent at 63,385, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled 138 points or 0.74 per cent higher at 18,826.

"Global shares drifted lower on Monday, as investors were left disappointed by a lack of policy announcements from China post a State Council meeting on Friday aimed at kickstarting the ailing economy.c Investors also awaited testimony from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in markets that remain dominated by monetary policy bets," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower. European equity markets were trading in negative territory. The US markets ended lower on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.38 per cent to $76.31 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 794.78 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Meanehile, the rupee depreciated by 3 paise to close at 81.93 against the US dollar on Monday amid strong American currency against major rivals overseas. However, the inflow of foreign funds into local equities and a downward trend in crude price capped the fall in the domestic unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 81.93 and moved in the range of 82.01 to 81.90 during intra-day. The unit settled at 81.93 (provisional) against the US dollar, reflecting a gain of 3 paise over the previous close. On Friday, the rupee settled at 81.90 against the dollar.