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The BSE benchmark Sensex today washed out nearly half of its last two days of gains and closed about 114 points down to end at 18,978.32, following late sell-off in some heavyweight counters on continued fears of interest rate hike in view of high inflation.
Selling in Infosys Tech, RIL, L&T, SBI, HDFC Bank, HDFC and ONGC contributed largely to the fall. However, smart rise in ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Sterlite Ind, TCS, Bajaj Auto and DLF cushioned the dip to some extent.
Brokers said that fears of rise in key interest rates by the apex bank RBI in its quarterly monetary policy review on January 25 continued to daunt the market sentiment.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer initially moved in a narrow range but selling after mid-session pulled it down to close at 18,978.32, a net loss of 113.73 points or 0.60%. In the last two days, it had gained by 231.61 points or 1.23%.
Similarly, the NSE 50-issue Nifty also fell back by 33.00 points or 0.58 per cent to 5,691.05.
Capital goods, IT and refinery counters attracted profit booking while Metal and realty shares were in demand. IT stocks suffered losses despite a positives like better than expected Q3 results announced by TCS, which had lifted the market yesterday.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended firm today due to gains on Wall Street yesterday, while European shares were trading stable in their late morning deals.
