ITC, RIL & ICICI Bank drag Sensex down by 91 points to 1-month low

All-round selling was seen in 12 out of 13 sectoral indices, while only healthcare ended with gains as pharma counters saw some buying. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed weak and remained in the negative zone throughout the day, moving in a narrow range of over 85 points.

With 19 of the 30-share Sensex ending with losses, the index settled down by 91.37 points, or 0.46%, at 19,659.82 — the lowest closing since January 1, when it had ended at 19,580.81. The index has tumbled by 345.18 points, or 1.73%, in the past four sessions. “Indian markets succumbed to profit booking on the back of weak international cues,” said Nagji K Rita, CMD, Inventure Growth & Securities.

Similarly, the CNX Nifty of the NSE dipped 30.35 points, or 0.51%, to a three-week low of 5,956.90. Consumer durables, FMCG, power, metal, oil & gas and banking stocks mainly suffered sharp to moderate losses. ITC, RIL, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors declined in the 1.1-1.6% range, extracting over 80 points from the Sensex. Bhel was the worst Sensex performer as it lost over 3.1%.

However, Sun Pharma was up 4% after USFDA approved its generic version of ovarian cancer drug, Doxil. Weak closing in Asia on the back of a steep fall on the Wall

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