Stock markets declined for the second straight day with benchmark Sensex falling by 239 points, dragged by FMCG major ITC after British multinational BAT Plc trimmed its ownership in the conglomerate.
Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
The 30-share BSE barometer declined 239.31 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 81,312.32.
During the day, it lost 307.61 points or 0.37 per cent to 81,244.02.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty dropped 73.75 points or 0.30 per cent to 24,752.45.
Among Sensex stocks, ITC fell over 3 per cent after BAT Plc trimmed its ownership in the conglomerate by divesting a 2.5 per cent stake for Rs 12,927 crore ($1.51 billion) through a block deal.
IndusInd Bank, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra were also among the laggards.
Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi settled in the positive territory while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended lower.
Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.47 per cent, S&P 500 surged 2.05 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.78 per cent.
“The domestic indices remained rangebound with a negative bias, primarily due to the lack of support from FIIs and prevailing premium valuations.
“A lingering concern over India-US trade relations following the end of the 90-day pause period continues to pose an external risk,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 348.45 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.69 per cent to $64.57 a barrel.
