Market snaps 4-day record-setting spree, ends marginally lower; RIL among top losers

Benchmark equity indices on Monday paused to catch some breath after their foursession record run as investors preferred to sit on the sidelines and wait for fresh cues ahead of holidays.

At the closing bell, the BSE gauge Sensex was down 38.88% or 0.09% at 41,642.66; while the NSE barometer Nifty was lower by 9.05 points or 0.074% at 12,262.75.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, which slipped 1.78% on the Sensex. In percentage terms, Nestle India was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.20%, on its first day as part of the index.

Other major laggards were SBI, Tech Mahindra, ITC and Mahindra and Mahindra.

On the other hand, gains in Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finance restricted the losses on the index.

Traders said the Sensex reshuffle led to some price movements as fund managers adjusted their portfolios.

Yes Bank, Vedanta, Tata Motors and Tata Motors DVR have exited the index to make way for Titan Company, UltraTech Cement and Nestle India.

Subdued trading in global markets ahead of year-end holidays and a disappointing show by the ruling BJP in Jharkhand polls also made investors cautious on the domestic bourses.

"Even though the markets closed almost unchanged from previous close, both the indices exhibited sideways movement and ended marginally lower. Auto stocks overcame the weak sentiment with Maruti, HeroMoto Corp logging gains while HDFC twins leading the uptick among the financials. Disappointing political verdict also prompted investors to cut their positions after BJP failed to win the majority in Jharkhand...," Shrikant Chouhan, Senior Vice President, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities, said.