INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sensex and Nifty erased early gains to end lower today
Sensex and Nifty erased early gains to end lower today, snapping a nine-session winning streak
The Sensex ended 63 points lower at 34,331 while the Nifty settled at 10,526, down 22 points
Selling pressure in banking and auto stocks weighed on the markets
On the other hand, gains by FMCG and metal stocks helped to cap the losses
The markets had earlier rallied for nine consecutive sessions, buoyed by hopes of strong quarterly results, with consumer staples stocks
among top gainers as forecasts of normal monsoon brightened their outlook.The recent rally suggests that investors are expecting better
quarterly results with positive monsoon forecast also boosting the sentiment, said Siddharth Sedani, vice president-head equity advisory at
He expects the markets to remain range-bound with stock specific moves taking place based on earnings.Among the financial stocks, HDFC and
ICICI Bank and SBI fell around 0.6 per cent
Axis Bank declined around 3 per cent. Information technology stocks continued to be under selling pressure following Infosys March quarter
Volatility of rupee and a tepid outlook forecast from Infosys Ltd is weighing on IT stocks, Mr Sedani added.The BSE IT index fell for the
Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and TCS were among the top losers in the IT pack today.ITC Ltd, India's biggest cigarette maker which also sells
biscuits under the Sunfeast brand, rose nearly 3 per cent today
Consumer staples stocks such as Dabur India also rose over 3 per cent while Hindustan Unilever gained 0.3 per cent.Global stocks climbed to
their highest in nearly four weeks today as strong US first-quarter earnings helped revive risk appetite, driving up equities and hauling
the dollar out of its slump
European stocks rose in early trading, pushing MSCI's index of world stocks up 0.2 per cent to its highest since March 22
