Nifty Edges Lower After Hitting 9,700, ITC Down 2%

Indian equity markets edged lower after opening at record highs on Tuesday with the Nifty rising above 9,700 level for the first time and Sensex gaining over 100 points to a fresh record high of 31,430. Gains in the market were led by IT pack as stocks like TCS, HCL Tech and Infosys gained between 1 per cent and 3.5 per cent. The IT sub-index of NSE, Nifty IT was up over 1.5 per cent. However, selling in FMCG stocks led by ITC offset gains in the benchmark indices. ITC, down nearly 2 per cent, was the biggest loser in Nifty.

Meanwhile, sentiment remained upbeat as foreign investors continued pump in money in to India equities. On Monday they bought shares worth Rs 477 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investor also remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 14 crore.

Analysts say the upward journey of Sensex and Nifty is likely to continue for some more time before giving any major correction. HDFC Securities in a note Monday said Nifty is likely to test 9,800 in the current rally.

Both Sensex and Nifty had closed at record highs of 31,309.49 and 9,675.10 respectively on Monday.

As of 9:45 am, Sensex was down 39 points at 31,270.30 and the Nifty traded 18.35 points lower at 9,656.75.

Meanwhile, shares in other Asian markets traded mostly lower except Hang Seng following Wall Street's fall overnight. Nikkei was down 0.5 per cent while Shanghai Composite fell 0.21 per cent. Overnight the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 per cent, to 21,184.04, the S&P 500 lost 2.97 0.12 per cent, to 2,436.1 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.16 percent, to 6,295.68.