Mumbai, Dec 4 (IANS) The Indian equity market snapped its six-day gaining streak on Tuesday amid caution ahead of the RBI's monetary policy announcement.
Investors were also cautious due to the ongoing state Assembly elections and expectations of a reduction in oil supply by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at its meeting due on December 6.
The market closed with the S&P BSE Sensex shedding 107 points, after trading in a short range during most of the day's trade.
"Investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy meeting. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will conclude its two-day meeting on Wednesday," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
"We understand that this time no change in rates is widely expected as the central bank would like to patiently watch," said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research.
Finance and banking stocks on the BSE traded over 0.50 per cent lower, while selling pressure was witnessed in telecom, auto and FMCG stocks.
In contrast, buying was seen on the S&P BSE IT index, which gained over 1 per cent. Oil and gas stocks also ended higher.
The Sensex settled lower 0.29 per cent, or 106.69 points, at 36,134.31, from its previous close of 36,241. It touched an intra-day high of 36,295.84 and a low of 36,036.39.
The Nifty50 lost 14.25 points or 0.13 per cent to close the session at 10,869.50.
However, in the broader markets, the BSE small-cap index closed in the green gaining 0.14 per cent, while BSE mid-cap traded lower by 0.07 per cent.
The crude oil prices surged on Tuesday on expectations of supply cuts by OPEC, the group of 15 of the world's top oil producers, which could further drive the prices up. The benchmark Brent Crude was trading higher at $63.19 a barrel when the markets closed.
The rupee closed at Rs 70.49 to a US dollar from its previous close of 70.45.
"Technically, the Nifty is consolidating in a tight range after the rally seen last week. Further upsides are likely once the immediate resistances of 10,903-10,941 are taken out.
"Crucial supports to watch for any weakness are at 10,845-10,833," said Deepak Jasani, head of HDFC Securities.
Provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 55.89 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors sold Rs 521.38 crore of shares.
Top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC, up 2.52 per cent at Rs 146.20; Infosys, up 2.18 per cent at Rs 684.45; Wipro, up 1.92 per cent at Rs 334.50; Vedanta, up 1.53 per cent at Rs 206.15; and Power Grid, up 1.38 per cent at Rs 187 per share.
The laggards were led by Sun Pharma, which lost 2.75 per cent, reflecting the concerns among the investors over the probe by the market regulator SEBI on charges of insider trading. It lost over 7 per cent on Monday.
It was followed by Mahindra and Mahindra, down 2.36 per cent at Rs 742.30; HDFC, down 1.92 per cent at Rs 1,939.20; and State Bank of India, down 1.64 per cent at Rs 282.30, and NTPC, down 1.41 per cent at Rs 143.05 per share.
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