Sensex extends losses for 3rd day; drops by 165 pts

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark index Sensex extended losses for the third straight day declining by over 165 points on sustained selling by foreign funds in banking and metal stocks.

The Sensex, which had lost nearly 245 points in last two sessions, fell further by 165.42 points, or 0.73 per cent, to close at 22,466.19 points. On similar lines, the broad-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange fell by 46 points, or 0.68 per cent, to settle at 6,715.25 points. "The corrective phase continues at Dalal Street with markets ending lower by 0.7 per cent on account of profit booking across sectors and stocks," Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities Ltd said.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever declined 3.01 per cent following disappointing January-March sales volume growth. Leading private lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank lost up to 1.30 per cent while PSU lender SBI fell by 1.90 per cent on profit booking after recent gains. Tata Steel which dropped by 4.79 per cent was the biggest loser among Sensex scrips after reports that the Supreme Court may impose interim ban on 40 iron ore mines in Orissa including those of Tata Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel &Power.

Brokers said continued selling by foreign funds, which adopted a cautious approach ahead of the Lok Sabha election results also dampened the sentiment. In 30-BSE index components, 25 stocks declined. The metal sector index suffered the most by losing 2.69 per cent to 10,097.42 followed by banking index by 1.27 per cent to 14,773.76.