Markets ended lower on Tuesday, snapping a two-day winning streak, as investors turned cautious and booked profit in financials ahead of the US Fed meet which begins later today.
The 30-share Sensex ended down 103 points at 19,223 and the Nifty ended down 36 points at 5,814.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average edged down in choppy trade but managed to end above 13,000 on Tuesday, with most players staying on the sidelines as they awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting for clues on when it may begin tapering back stimulus.
The Nikkei slipped 0.2 percent to 13,007.28 points after trading as high as 13,139.48 earlier.
Straits Times ended up 1.5%, Shanghai Composite gained 0.1% and Hang Seng ended nearly unchanged.
European markets were trading mixed as investors adopted a wait-and-watch stance ahead of the US Fed's policy meet later today.
Meanwhile, the rupee was trading weak on Tuesday due to dollar demand from custodian banks, oil importers and defense related payments.
The rupee was at Rs 58.65 compared with previous close of Rs 57.77.
Bankex was the top loser among the sectoral indices on the BSE down 1.2% followed by Consumer Durables, PSU, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas, Power and FMCG among others.
Financials which
had firmed up on expectation of a rate cut by the RBI witnessed profit taking at higher levels. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC and SBI ended down over 1-1.5% each.
Other Sensex losers include, L&T, ITC, ONGC and Bharti Airtel.
Infosys and Wipro ended nearly 1% up on the back of a weakening rupee while two-wheeler majors Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp ended over 1.3% higher.
Among other share, Reliance Comm and Idea Cellular ended up 1-11% each after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India announced reduction in the national mobile phone roaming charges.
Panacea Biotech ended 17% higher at Rs 126, extending its previous day’s 20% rally on BSE, on back of heavy volumes.
VA Tech Wabag ended 3.5% up at Rs 456 after the company in a joint venture with Pratibha Industries has won an Rs 262 crore order from Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, Nepal.
Shasun Pharma ended 8.3% down at Rs 58.60 after the drug firm said that the operations at its Pondicherry facility have been affected due to strike by workers.
JM Financial ended 6.3% higher at Rs 28.75 after the financial services company said it has received shareholders approval for the issue of convertible warrants to Vikarm Pandit, along with his business partner Hari Aiyar on preferential basis.
In the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap index ended flat while the Small-cap index ended up 0.2%.
Market breadth ended neutral with 1,164 losers and 1,161 gainers on the BSE.
Markets ended lower on Tuesday, snapping a two-day winning streak, as investors turned cautious and booked profit in financials ahead of the US Fed meet which begins later today.