MARKETS DECLINE FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT SESSION
Domestic equities ended in the negative terrain for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, with the BSE benchmark Sensex falling over 200 points as investors intensified selling towards the fag end of the day, even as global cues remained positive. Investors sold heavily on realty, IT, consumer and banking counters ahead of index of industrial production data for December and consumer price inflation numbers for January to be released later in the day. Tepid earnings by some more companies and foreign fund outflows also dampened trading sentiments, brokers said. The Sensex advanced to hit an intraday high of 36,465.40 points in opening trade, driven by a firming trend at other Asian markets. However, indices failed to hold on to gains as profit-taking re-emerged in the later part of the session, wiping off initial gains, with the Sensex settling 241.41 points, or 0.66%, down at 36,153.62 points. The gauge had lost 580 points in the previous three sessions.