Sensex down 76 points as IT shares slip; Rail stocks buck trend
BSE Sensex index fell 76.26 points, or 0.30 per cent, to end at 25,589.01
Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex on August 7 fell for the second straight session and ended over 76 points lower dragged down by domestic IT stocks after their global peer Cognizant lowered its full-year revenue guidance. Bucking the overall weak trend, shares of companies related to railways saw buying interest after the government yesterday approved FDI liberalisation in the sector.
The BSE Sensex index, which had lost 242.74 points in the previous session, fell 76.26 points, or 0.30 per cent, to end at 25,589.01. Intra-day, it moved between 25,526.05 and 25,778.05. Shares of IT majors Infosys (down 1.68 per cent) and TCS (down 1.56 per cent) fell after Cognizant's lower full year revenue guidance of at least 14 per cent triggered concerns. It had earlier said sales will grow by 16.5 per cent in 2014.
The 50-share NSE index Nifty dropped 22.80 points, or 0.30 per cent, to end at 7,649.25. During the session, it shuttled between 7,630.40 and 7,708.95. Stocks of companies engaged in railways-related businesses rallied after the Cabinet fully opened up the railway infrastructure segment. Titagarh Wagons surged 1.03 per cent, Kalindee Rail Nirman climbed 3.84 per cent, and Texmaco Rail zoomed 4.49 per cent among prominent gainers. Moving ahead with the economic reforms, the Cabinet on August 6 also cleared the long-delayed proposal for raising FDI limit in defence to 49 per cent.
Shares of defence equipment makers such as Astra Microwave Products, BEML and Bharat Electronics initially moved up but succumbed to profit-taking at the fag-end. Banking, realty, power, capital goods, healthcare, metal and FMCG sector stocks also came under selling pressure. Overall, 16 out of 30 Sensex-based scrips fell and 14 finished higher. A mixed closing in the other Asian markets and a lower opening of European markets on signs of deepening Ukraine crisis also dampened trading sentiments here, brokers said. Oil & Gas, PSU and Consumer Durable scrips settled higher and cushioned the fall in broader markets.