Market snaps four-day record-setting spree, ends marginally lower; Nestle, RIL, SBI among top losers

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on Monday closed marginally lower as the emergence of sell-off mainly in heavyweight Reliance Industries put a brake on indices' four-session record-breaking run.

The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 38.88 points, or 0.09 percent, down at 41,642.66, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 9.05 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 12,262.75.

#MarketAtClose | Last-hour recovery helps market close flat, but off lows; market snaps 4-day gaining streak, Nifty down 9 pts, Sensex 39 points pic.twitter.com/EwhIcN185m

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 23, 2019

Nestle India was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.20 percent, on its first day as part of the index.

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 1.78 percent after the government sought to block the company's plan to sell a stake to Saudi Aramco.

Last week, the government moved the Delhi High Court seeking to block Reliance selling 20 percent stake in its oil and chemical business to Saudi Aramco for $15 billion, in view of pending dues of $3.5 billion in Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields.

SBI, Tech Mahindra, ITC and Mahindra and Mahindra were among the other losers on the index.

Representational image. Reuters.

On the other hand, gains in Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finance restricted the losses on the index.

According to traders, the Sensex reshuffle led to some price movements as fund managers adjusted their portfolios.

Yes Bank, Vedanta, Tata Motors and Tata Motors DVR have exited the index to make way for Titan Company, UltraTech Cement and Nestle India.

Bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended on a negative note, while those in Hong Kong and Tokyo settled in the green.

Equity benchmarks in Europe were trading on a tepid note in their respective early sessions.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 4 paise against the US dollar to 71.16 (intra-day).

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.05 percent to $66.11 per barrel.

(Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost)