Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) The Indian equity markets closed on a flat note on Monday as bearish global cues, coupled with caution over upcoming monsoon update and the ongoing fourth quarter results season, eroded investors' risk-taking appetite.
However, the slide was arrested as a key macro-economic data point -- Wholesale Price Index (WPI) -- showed deceleration in inflation trend during last month.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) inched down by 11.50 points or 0.13 per cent closed at 9,139.30 points.
The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed lower by 47.79 points or 0.16 per cent. It opened at 29,470.27 points, closed at 29,413.66 points from its previous close at 29,461.45 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 29,494.08 points and a low of 29,363.28 points during the intra-day trade.
"Markets ended marginally lower on Monday. It was the third consecutive session of losses," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
"Market breadth was negative on the NSE, while it was almost 1:1 on the BSE."
On the currency front, the Indian rupee weakened by 10 pasie to 64.51-52 against a US dollar from its previous close of 64.41-42 to a greenback.
In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrip worth Rs 250.54 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) off-loaded scrip worth Rs 52.38 crore.
According to Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, gold's continued rise and weak Asian equities showed that geopolitical tensions continue to hold sway over financial markets.
"Weak start to earning season and worries over monsoon also keep Indian investors on the back foot, but restructuring in the realty space kept investors interested," James explained.
Commenting on the sector specific movement, Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS: "Tyre, textile and FMCG sector stocks outperformed the market, while healthy buying momentum was seen in realty sector stocks as well. Along with realty, energy remained top performing sectors."
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE metal index plunged by 124.27 points, the automobile index receded by 62.30 points, and the IT index edged lower by 46.19 points.
On the other hand, realty index surged by 152 points and oil and gas index augmented by 115.54 points.
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