Benchmark stock market indices Sensex and Nifty opened at fresh record highs on Monday but minutes later erased their morning gains. At 10.05 AM, S&P BSE Sensex was trading 131 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 41,814.38 points while the broader Nifty 50 index was ruling 36.50 points or 0.21 per cent lower at 12, 326 points. On the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, TCS, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were among the top losers. Conversely, Power Grid, ITC, Asian Paint, HDFC and ONGC were the laggards.
Earlier in the morning, S&P BSE Sensex jumped 328.50 points to a record high of 42,273.87 points, while the NSE’s Nifty50 index breached the crucial 12,400 level for the first time ever to touch 12,430.50, up 78.15 points.
Among Nifty sectoral indices, barring Nifty FMCG, Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty, all the indices were trading in red. The Nifty IT index was trading 0.69 per cent lower dragged by HCL Tech, Just Dial, TCS and Wipro.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index was trading 23 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 15,685 points while the S&P BSE BSE SmallCap index was ruling at 14,698.60 points, down 0.07 per cent or 0.10 points.
Around 26 companies, including Just Dial, KEI Industries, and ICICI Securities, are scheduled to announce their December quarter earnings later in the day. On Monday, Asian shares neared a 20-month top as Wall Street extended its run of record peaks on solid US economic data and lashes of liquidity from the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices rose to their highest in more than week on Monday after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down amid a military blockade, setting the stage for crude flows from the OPEC member to be cut to a trickle. Brent crude futures were up by 74 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $65.59, having earlier reached $66.00 a barrel, the highest since January 9, as per the Reuters news report.