The 11-day winning streak of the 30-share Sensex came to an abrupt end on Thursday, following negative global cues and profit booking in frontline counters. The benchmark index failed to breach the 18,000 barrier and closed the day at 17,777.14 points, down 69.90 points or 0.39%.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty, on the other hand, ended at 5,208.65 points, marginally down by 2.15 points or 0.04%. Apart from negative global sentiment, strong rumours of another 25 bps hike in cash reserve ratio by the Reserve Bank of India at its October 30 meeting for the mid-term review of the monetary policy dampened market sentiment, said a dealer with a domestic brokerage firm. As a result, BSE Banking index was down 137.66 points or 1.44% at 9,415.02 points. Major housing lender HDFC fell Rs 94.70 or 3.65% to Rs 2,499.50 while ICICI Bank was down Rs 26.65 or 2.45% to Rs 1,061.35. Market breadth remained negative throughout the day with 1,612 stocks ending the day in the red while 1,164 stocks advanced.
