Sensex ends in red as profit-taking pulls down blue chips

[caption id=“attachment_1100547” align=“alignright” width=“380”] AFP[/caption]

The Indian markets fell today, snapping a three-week winning streak as blue chip shares were hit by profit-taking after marking their highest level since November 2010 earlier in the week.

The BSE Sensex closed at 20683.52, down 41.91 points or 0.20 percent while the Nifty closed at 6144.90, down 19.45 points or 0.32 percent.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd provisionally fell 1.7 percent, while Hindustan Unilever Ltd lost 2.6 percent a day ahead of its July-September earnings results.

Even though the Sensex shied away from touching all-time high levels, there is a good chance of an overshoot on the upside in the next few days, believes Sandeep Shenoy, Anand Rathi Financial Services.

“Market is poised quite interestingly at present, because in the beginning of this season, there was despondency and people were more or less pessimistic on the earnings front. But as the earnings season is progressing, we are now starting to see minor tweaking up of index EPS. So, that probably could be giving some kind of support to the markets in the shorter term,” he told CNBC-TV18.

Stocks in news:

ICICI Bank stocks closed flat at Rs 1021.65. The company reported 20 percent increase in net profit to Rs 2352 crore.

Pharmaceuticals major Wockhardt closed 0.98 percent down. It reported 69.46 percent decline in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013 at Rs 138.50 crore, reports PTI. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 453.55 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, Wockhardt Ltd said in a filing to the BSE.

ITC stocks closed 0.74 percent down.The company’s Q2 net profit grew 21.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,230 crore.