NIfty slips from 9,700 mark post its morning hit

Mumbai: The benchmark Nifty snapped itstwo-day winning streak and slipped 38 points to settle at 9,637 after hitting the psychological 9,700-mark for the first time in opening trade.

Participants preferred profit-booking mainly in FMCG, realty, infra, media, energy, auto stocks ahead of the outcome of two-day meet of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee tomorrow. Weakness in global stocks also weighed on sentiment.

In overseas markets, European stocks edged lower amid geopolitical worries. Investors took a cautious approach ahead of a general election in the UK and a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.

Most Asian stocks dropped following the lower close on Wall Street yesterday and as markets digested the impact of diplomatic tensions between Qatar and other Middle Eastern nations.

The NSE 50-share Nifty index opened higher at 9,704.25 and hovered between 9,709.30 and 9,630.20 before finishing at 9,637.15, a loss of 37.95 points, or 0.39 per cent. It saw an intra-day movement of about 79.10 points.

Sector-wise, FMCG fell 1.41 per cent, realty 1.37 per cent, followed by infra 1.33 per cent, media 1.20 per cent, energy 1.09 per cent, auto 1.08 per cent, PSU banks 0.73 per cent, pharma 0.60 per cent. However, IT was the lone gainer by 2.32 per cent.

The broader markets declined, the mid-cap and small-cap indices fell by 0.53 per cent and 0.72 per cent, respectively. Major index losers were Tata Motors (3.59 per cent), NTPC (2.77 per cent), Indiabulls Housing Fin (2.71 per cent), Tata Motors (2.62 per cent) and ONGC (2.45 per cent). While, HCL Tech rose by 3.58 per cent, other notable gainers were TCS (3.54 per cent), Infosys (2.15 per cent), Tech Mah (1.46 per cent) and Wipro (0.90 per cent).

A total of 1,161 scrips declined, 501 advanced, while 78 remained unchanged and total securities that hit their price bands were 129. Turnover in the cash segment rose to Rs 22,177.61 crore, from Rs 20,992.61 crore yesterday.

A total of 9,973.34 lakh shares changed hands in 82,52,499 trades. The market capitalization of listed firms on the NSE stood at Rs 1,25,02,871 crore.