Sensex ends 58 pts lower in listless trading; snaps 3-session gains

Domestic equities ended weak in a listless trading session on Tuesday, marking the first drop in last four sessions as investors booked profit in metal and realty stocks tracking lacklustre global markets sentiment even as concerns about the Chinese economic slowdown continues to keep traders on the edge. [caption id=“attachment_2475924” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] After surging nearly 600 points in the last three trading session, the 30-share BSE S&P Sensex retreated from its winning streak to end 58.09 points lower or 0.2 percent at 27,306.83. The broader 50-stock CNX Nifty ended at 8,261.65, down 13.40 points, or 0.2 percent. Despite the lacklustre trade, market breadth ended on a higher note with 1,427 stocks advancing against 1,326 declines on BSE. Also, the range-bound markets failed to deter investors from taking further exposure to second-round stocks with BSE mid-cap index ending 0.5 percent higher and BSE small-cap index rising 0.2 percent, respectively. Dragging down the key benchmark indices, metal stocks witnessed severe hammering amid concerns the persisting global economic slowdown coupled with lingering worries about the slowing Chinese economy could severely impact demand in the near-to-medium term. Shares of Vedanta tumbled 6.4 percent to Rs 101.25, Tata Steel dropped nearly 3 percent to Rs 240.80, Hindalco declined 2.4 percent to Rs 84.40 and NMDC was down 2.1 percent at Rs 101.50. In the realty space, shares of HDIL fell 3.2 percent to Rs 76.85, Indiabulls Real Estate dipped 1.8 percent to Rs 71, Unitech lost 1.6 percent to Rs 7.95 and NBCC was down 1.5 percent at Rs 1,002.60. However, select IT stocks shrugged off the weak broad market trend and ended higher. Shares of TCS rose 1.6 percent to Rs 2,526.70, while Infosys ended 1.2 percent higher at Rs 1,125.35.