Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower.
The Nifty 50 index took a breather on Tuesday after rallying 5 per cent in last seven trading sessions wherein it surged to new all-time high. The Indian equity benchmarks staged a gap up opening wherein the Sensex rose as much as 291 points and Nifty touched record high of 15,660.75. However, owing to selling pressure in metal and banking shares at higher levels on account of profit-booking led to correction in the markets.
The Sensex ended 3 points lower to close at 51,935 and Nifty 50 index slipped 8 points to settle at 15,575.
Gains in HDFC, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were offset with losses in ICICI Bank, Infosys, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank.
Selling pressure was broad-based as eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty Metal index’s 1 per cent decline. Nifty Bank, Private Bank, PSU Bank, Realty and Auto shares also faced selling pressure.
On the other hand, Nifty Media, IT and Pharma indices managed to close higher.
Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index advanced 0.2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 0.72 per cent.
Among the individual shares, PNB Housing Finance was locked in 20 per cent upper circuit for second session in a row on Tuesday at fresh 52-week high of Rs 630.20. In the last two trading sessions the stock has gained 44 per cent after the company informed exchanges on Monday that its board has approved raising Rs 4,000 crore from the entities of US-based The Carlyle Group.
Narayana Hrudayalaya shares surged more than 16 per cent on the BSE after the company reported a massive jump in net profit in the March quarter.
Adani Ports was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 4 per cent to close at Rs 799. ONGC, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever also rose between 1-3 per cent.
On the flipside, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Grasim Industries, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, SBI Life, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ITC were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,830 shares closed lower while 1,311 ended higher on the BSE.