Sensex, Nifty are trading lower after hitting record highs amid fall in financial stocks

Benchmark stock indices ended the session on a weak note after reaching record highs at the beginning of the session.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down 264.27 points at 85,571.85, while the NSE Nifty50 fell 37.10 points at 26,178.95.

Most other broader market indexes fell during the session.

Among the sectoral indices, heavily weighted Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services ended the session with deep cuts, while Nifty IT gained 0.36%. Nifty Pharma was the biggest gainer with an increase of 1.15%.

The top five gainers on Nifty50 are BPCL, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Divi’s Lab and Reliance.

On the other hand, the biggest losers were Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Hero MotoCorp.

Vinod Nair, Research Director, Geojit Financial Services, said, “After the recent impressive rally, benchmark indices witnessed a sideways move today as investors took to profit booking at elevated levels.”

Nair noted that the China market has seen sharp gains amid mixed sentiment in Asia, given economic stimulus and attractive valuation.

Nair said, “Metal stocks witnessed a gain while pharma and IT sectors witnessed a gain due to weakening INR. Meanwhile, investors are eagerly awaiting the second-quarter earnings report, expecting earnings prospects to improve.”