Sensex Extends Losses, Down 66 Points; IT Stocks Weigh

Mumbai: The Sensex fell for the sixth day on Wednesday, this time about 66 points, to end at nearly two-week low of 26,242, dragged down by major IT stocks such as Infosys and TCS amid mixed global cues.

Infosys fell 0.66 per cent and TCS 1.07 per cent.

The index, which had lost 389.84 points in the previous five session, dropped another 65.60 points, or 0.25 per cent, to end at 26,242.38, its lowest closing since December 7. It shuttled between 26,396.00 and 26,213.51 today.

The 50-share NSE Nifty also declined by 21.10 points, or 0.26 per cent, to end at 8,061.30, after moving between 8,112.55 and 8,053.25.

The volume remained low in view of the approaching holiday year ending.

FMCG, IT, technology, capital goods and healthcare sectors led the fall by up to 0.95 per cent. However, buying interest was witnessed in select sectors like realty, consumer durables, power and PSU.

Shares of Sun Pharma suffered the most by plunging 2.25 per cent, followed by ITC 1.44 per cent.

Other losers were TCS, Wipro, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, L&T Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, GAIL and Dr Reddy's, while Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Lupin, NTPC, ONGC, Powergrid, ICICI Bank and Adani Ports rose, which minimised the fall.

Overseas, Asian stocks ended largely mixed. Japan Nikkei closed lower by 0.26 per cent on today, slipping off a one-year high hit the previous day as investors shuffled their positions before the holiday season.

However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.37 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.11 per cent.

Europe opened lower in early trade, with Frankfurt falling 0.20 per cent and Paris 0.40 per cent. London's FTSE was down by 0.20 per cent.

As many as 17 scrips out of 30-share Sensex pack ended lower.

Sector-wise, FMCG index was down 0.95 per cent, followed by IT 0.75 per cent, technology 0.74 per cent and capital goods 0.40 per cent.

Broader market saw a mixed trend, with mid-cap index falling 0.16 per cent. Small-cap edged up 0.03 per cent.

Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 685.93 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.