Sensex closes little changed after hitting record high
By Abhishek Vishnoi
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and the Nifty ended little changed on Tuesday, retreating from record highs hit earlier in the session, as investors booked profits even as rising confidence in the domestic economy and rate-cut hopes boosted firms such as Larsen & Toubro(LART.NS).
Investors preferred shares of domestically-focused companies to those in export-driven firms such as Infosys Ltd(INFY.NS).
They hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a slew of reforms including goods and services tax and changes in land acquisition laws.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to cut interest rates as early as in February, helping spur economic growth.
Underlying sentiment also remained robust on continued foreign buying. Overseas investors bought shares worth 6.56 billion rupees ($106.28 million) on Monday, bringing their total purchase in stocks to $15.35 billion so far in 2014.
"Indexes are consolidating. Defensives are being de-selected in the portfolio while old economy stocks are gaining on rate-cut hopes," said Deven Choksey, managing director at K R Choksey Securities.
The BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.37 percent to an all-time high of 28,282.85 before ending down 0.05 percent.
The Nifty closed 0.06 percent lower after hitting a record high of 8,454.50.
Domestic economy-driven shares led gains. L&T advanced 1.8 percent, while HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) rose 1.4 percent.
Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL.NS) rose 2 percent, while IDFC (IDFC.NS) gained 3.1 percent.
Exporters fell on portfolio churning. Infosys dropped 0.9 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) lost 1.2 percent.
Power Grid Corporation of India (PGRD.NS) rose 1.1 percent, while Punjab National Bank (PNBK.NS) ended up 2 percent.
Among drug exporters, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SUN.NS) lost 1.9 percent, while Cipla (CIPL.NS) ended 0.9 percent lower.
Shares of jewellery companies also fell after the RBI said it was discussing increasing restrictions on gold imports.
Titan Company Ltd (TITN.NS) fell 1.1 percent, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Ltd (TBZL.NS) lost 2.3 percent and Shree Ganesh Jewellery House (SHRG.NS) ended down 2.7 percent.
(Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
