Sensex falls amid FII selloff; Nifty below 6000
The BSE Sensex traded 0.26 per cent lower on Wednesday after opening marginally higher, while the broader Nifty dipped below the 6,000 levels, down 13 points. The rupee, however, held up against the dollar and traded at 62.45 as of 09.30 a.m.
The BSE Sensex and Nifty had posted major recoveries yesterday after breaching their 200 day moving averages, but sentiments remain bearish amid the continuous selloff by foreign investors, who have turned sellers in Indian markets since January 23.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,234 crore in the cash markets yesterday. Analysts worry selling could accelerate after overseas funds bought a net $20 billion worth of shares last year, leaving them overweight and thus prone to take profits.
Banking stocks edged up slightly and IT stocks also rebounded after Tuesday's selloff. However, FMCG stocks saw profit taking.
28 stocks traded higher on the Nifty led by Tata Steel, which traded 1.2 per cent higher. Gail India, M&M and Ranbaxy also traded over 1 per cent higher.
Tobacco major ITC, which has the largest weightage on the Nifty, fell 1.5 per cent. HCL Tech continued to be under selling pressure and dropped another 1.1 per cent.
Global cues:
Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday as wary investors took heart from the recovery overnight in European and US markets, but there wasn't much bounce to the rebound. Japan's Nikkei 225 traded 1.2 per cent higher after dropping 4.2 per cent on Tuesday.
Investors remain cautious, watching for the reopening of mainland Chinese markets following the Lunar New Year holiday, and US jobless data, due out Friday, said Kwong Man Bun, chief operating officer at KGI Securities in Hong Kong.
View on markets:
Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava said Tuesday's session indicated that bears may be getting exhausted near the 200 day moving average as markets recovered after opening gap down. Outlook on markets remain positive unless Nifty breaks decisively below 5,950, he added.
(With inputs from agencies)