Profit booking halts bull run since Budget

Snapping their six-session winning streak, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Tuesday following fagend profit-booking in IT, FMCG, finance and auto stocks.

After rallying 487 points to touch its lifetime intra-day high of 51,835.86, the 30-share BSE Sensex pared all gains to end 19.69 points or 0.04 per cent lower at 51,329.08.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 6.50 points or 0.04 per cent to 15,109.30. It touched a record peak of 15,257.10 during the day.

M&M was the top drag in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.62 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv and TCS.

"The market failed to hold on due to heavy selling towards the close. Most of the sectors hit rough weather with auto, pharma and media stocks being the worst affected. However, banking stocks were in positive territory,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.