Sensex, Nifty end in red after hitting all-time high

Mumbai: Heavy profit booking at the fag-end of the week pulled down the S&P BSE benchmark Sensex by 96 points to close at 29,182.95 and CNX Nifty by 27 points to end at 8,808.90 from their all-time high of 29,844.16 and 8,996.60 respectively. Trading for the week started on a strong note, but the trend reversed on the last trading session of the week when large caps declined sharply.

Volatility was high as traders rolled over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the January 2015 series to February 2015 series. The January 2015 derivatives contracts expired on Thursday. The S&P BSE Sensex fell by 95.89 points or 0.33 pct to 29,182.95. The index hit a record high of 29,844.16 in intraday trade during the week. The 50-unit CNX Nifty also fell by 26.70 points or 0.30 pct to 8,808.90 after hitting an all-time intraday high of 8,996.60.

However, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 42.92 points or 0.40 pct to 10,738.59 while S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 36.83 points or 0.32 pct to 11,329.26. The stock market was closed on Monday, 26 January 2015, for Republic Day. Index heavyweights led rally in key benchmark indices on the first trading session of the week on Tuesday.

This was after India and the US on last Sunday reached an understanding on resolving the logjam in implementing the historic 2006 India-US nuclear deal and decided to take defence cooperation to a new level following a bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.