The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday settled in the negative zone after witnessing profit booking ahead of the CPI inflation data scheduled to be announced later in the day. The domestic indices, however, clocked strong gains on the first session of Samvat 2080 on Diwali.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 326 points lower at 64,934. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,444, down 82 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, TechM, ICICI Bank, Nestle, TCS were among the main losers. A total of 23 of the 30 index stocks settled in the red zone. On the flip side, M&M, JSW Steel, NTPC, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, and SBI emerged gainers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 0.10 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index dropped 0.01 per cent.
Sectorwise, the Nifty PSU Bank index climbed the most (up 2.6 per cent), followed by the Nifty Metal index (up 0.37 per cent), while the Nifty IT index declined 0.73 per cent. Most sectors shut shop in negative territory.
In the previous session on Diwali Muhurat Trading, the BSE Sensex closed 355 points up at 65,259.45 during the first trading session of Samvat 2080. The Nifty stood at 19,525.55, up by about 100 points in the session.
In Asian markets, Seoul settled in the negative territory while Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in the green. European markets were trading with gains. The US markets ended with significant gains on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.20 per cent to $81.27 a barrel.
Stock exchanges conducted a one-hour special Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali on November 12.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 190.06 crore on Sunday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Indian rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled lower by 4 paise at 83.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities. Persistent foreign fund outflows also weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.31 and touched a low of 83.33 against the greenback. It finally settled at 83.32 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 4 paise from its previous close. On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.28 against the American currency.