The Indian equity benchmarks dropped from record highs as traders booked profit at higher levels ahead of the weekly expiry of index futures and option contracts. The Sensex fell as much as 501 points from record high of 56,118.57 and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 16,561.65 after hitting an all-time high of 16,701.85. ICICI Bank, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies and Asian Paints were among the biggest drags on the Sensex.
As of 1:43 pm, the Sensex was down 131 points at 55,661 and Nifty 50 index declined 38 points to 16,577.
"Positive market sentiment remains intact as the efforts from the government to keep the economy on track have started to show results with manufacturing numbers showing signs of recovery. Our research suggests that 16,500 will be an important support level for Nifty in the short term. Indicators suggest a volatile movement in the small range between 16,500-16,700," Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research told NDTV.
Thirteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by the BSE were trading lower led by the Nifty Metal index's nearly 1 per cent decline. Realty, Banking, Telecom, Finance, Basic Materials and IT indices were also trading with a negative bias.
On the other hand, oil & gas, power and FMCG shares were witnessing a mild buying interest.
Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a mixed note as S&P BSE MidCap index rose 0.34 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap index declined 0.22 per cent.
ICICI Bank was top loser in the Sensex, the stock fell nearly 2 per cent to Rs 687. Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys and HCL Tech also fell between 0.5-1.5 per cent.
On the flipside, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, TCS, NTPC and Dr Reddy's Labs were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 2,033 shares were declining while 1,076 were advancing on the BSE.
