Profit booking hits sentiment, Nifty ends below 5,900

The stock market surrendered early gains amid frantic profit taking as the benchmark Nifty slipped below the 5,900 level after scaling 23-month high at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today.

Trading began on a strong note led by gains in heavyweights and firm buying in sector specific stocks amid supportive global cues. The market kept moving up as investors took advantage of this momentum with across the board buying pushing the 50-share index to 23-month high.

However, the bullish sentiment failed to last long as the key index began sliding in afternoon trade due to selling pressure. It gave away the entire gain and fell below the crucial 5,900 mark before regaining some lost ground in the final hour of trade.

Oil & gas, technology, bank, infra and realty stocks along with small-cap and mid-cap witnessed heavy unwinding. FMCG, pharma and select financial counters saw good buying.

Globally, Asian shares were mostly higher as investors waited for the US Federal Reserve's policy decision and buoyed by progress in American budget talks.

The Nifty swung widely between a high of 5,965.15 and a low of 5,865.45 before concluding at 5,898.80, down by 10.10 points, or 0.17 per cent, over the last close.

Hindalco, BHEL, Cairn, DLF, HCL Tech, NTPC, TCS, ONGC, Coal India and Reliance were the top Nifty losers. Key gainers included Bajaj Auto, Ambuja Cement, Jindal Steel, HUL, Sun Pharma, UltraTech, HDFC, ACC, IDFC and HeroMoto.

The turnover in cash segment rose to Rs 14,242.59 crore from Rs 10,957.33 crore yesterday. Overall, 8,506.82 lakh shares changed hands in 65,26,235 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 66,49,761 crore.

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