Sensex makes a retreat from record after rally fatigue

Mumbai: Stocks showed signs of fatigue today after two back-to-back record-setting sessions as the benchmark Sensex struggled to maintain its momentum, with investors shifting focus to taking profit.

Weak Asian cues weighed, too.

The 30-share index after hitting a fresh lifetime high (intra-day) of 30,620.72 at the outset slipped to 30,524.86, down 57.74 points, or 0.18 per cent. It breached previous intra-day record of 30,591.55.
The gauge had gained 394.45 points in the previous two sessions.

BSE indices led by FMCG, capital goods, healthcare, banking and PSU declined.

After scaling a new life high of 9,521 (intra-day), The Nifty turned lower by 22.55 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 9,489.70. It broke the previous intra-day record high of 9,517.20 hit yesterday.

Traders said emergence of selling by participants at record levels and weak Asian cues dampened sentiment here. Investors were worried about US President Donald Trump’s ability to push through his economic agenda following accusations that he tried to quash an FBI probe.

Major losers were ITC Ltd, Dr Reddy’s, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, GAIL, SBI, Adani Ports, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Industries, falling by up to 1.22 per cent.

Bucking the trend, Tata Steel was trading higher by 4.76 per cent after consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 1,168.02 crore for the quarter ended March 2017.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.22 per cent while Shanghai Composite shed 0.01 per cent in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei too was down 0.49 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.01 per cent lower yesterday.