Hit by selling in second half of trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex today fell for the first time in three days and closed 13.77 points lower at 18,731.16 dragged down by losses in Reliance Industries, HDFC and TCS shares amid weakness in European markets.
After yesterday's 387-point surge, the index opened stable today and gained nearly 125 points to touch day's high of 18,869.88. However, over 3.7 per cent losses in RIL weighed on sentiment as investors appeared disappointed with its results.
TCS fell nearly 1.8 per cent ahead of its Q4 earnings. Infosys and Wipro also fell. HDFC and HDFC Bank closed lower.
The 30-share Sensex finally closed with a 13.77-point loss, or 0.07 per cent, at 18,731.16, snapping over 500-point rise in the past two days.
Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty eased by 0.25 points to end at 5,688.70.
Sectorally, metal, FMCG, auto, healthcare and banking saw buying while oil&gas and IT stocks were big laggards in trade.
"Markets opened on a positive note following strong rally yesterday but encountered selling pressure in the second half. RIL was seen down due to profit-booking post Q4 results. TCS will also be releasing its results later and its impact will be seen tomorrow," said Nidhi Saraswat, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.
Smart rise in ITC, ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Auto limited a major fall in benchmark indices.
Fall in the European markets later weighed on the local bourses. France's CAC was down by 0.84 per cent, Germany's DAX by 1.12 per cent and the UK's FTSE by 0.51 per cent.
