Markets Lose Steam on Profit Taking

Mumbai: Market declined for a second consecutive session on profit taking after the Budget and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meeting completion with the benchmark Sensex and Nifty-50 down by around 0.75 per cent. Financials took a big hit amid reports of RBI’s regulatory measures on Bandhan Bank, casting a shadow on other bank stocks, PSU banks saw profit taking after the post Budget rally.

Broader market under performed with much bigger fall in BSE mid-cap and small-cap index by 2 to 4 per cent leading to 3,015 stocks on declining side and only 980 stocks advancing on BSE.

“Domestic equities opened positive but soon witnessed selling pressure amid muted global cues. Broader market plunged sharply with Nifty midcap 100 down 2.5 per cent and the Nifty smallcap 100 down by 4 per cent. PSUs saw a heavy profit booking after witnessing a sharp rally over the last few months and weak Q3 results. There was also caution ahead of domestic CPI and IIP data that was due for release later on Monday,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“Despite a robust economic forecast, corporate earnings are expected to slow due to moderated operating margins. It is going to be a challenge for the broad market to sustain the premium valuation,” said Vinod Nair, head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.