Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower ahead of US Fed's policy meet
The Sensex ended over 51 points lower on Monday while the Nifty50 settled flat amid a weak trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund outflows.
Investors remained on the sidelines ahead of industrial production and retail inflation data scheduled to be announced after market hours, traders said.
After tumbling over 500 points in opening trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex recouped most of the losses to end 51.10 points or 0.08 per cent lower at 62,130.57.
The broader NSE Nifty closed at 18,497.15, marginally higher by 0.55 points.
Asian Paints was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.94 per cent, followed by Infosys, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, SBI and Bajaj Finserv.
In contrast, Tata Steel, Nestle India, Dr Reddy's, Wipro, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank and ITC were among the winners, spurting as much as 1.18 per cent.
The market breadth was negative.
"After retreating sharply in early trades, both benchmark indices recouped most of their losses but traded range-bound in a listless trading for almost the entire trading session, as investors mostly stayed on the side lines ahead of inflation data and the US Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
"More clarity will emerge post the US Fed meeting, which would determine the trend in the near term," said Shrikant chouhan, Head, Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.
