Sensex, Nifty close lower after a day of volatile trade

Indian benchmark indices opened in the green following an overnight Wall Street rally, which saw US stocks rebound by about 2%. Stocks, however,trimmed early gains after a day of volatile trade. BSE Sensex ended lower by 0.33% at 34,082.71.

The benchmark BSE Sensex trimmed its early gains on bouts of value buying amid a recovery in global markets. Markets remained volatile through the afternoon session.

People past through outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Feb 06, 2018. (Bhushan Koyande/HT))

The RBI kept key rates unchanged in its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy review, in line with economists’ expectations, but lowered economic growth projection to 6.6% for 2017-18, from 6.7% iThe lending rate (repo rate) remains unchanged at 6%, while the reverse repo rate stays at 5.75%.

At close, BSE Sensex was down 0.33%, or 113.23 bps lower at 34,082.71., while the broader NSE Nifty 50 was at 10,476.70, 0.21% or 21.55 points lower.

Earlier, the key indices witnessed hectic value-buying after previous three-session correction.

Buying was seen in key frontline shares of Realty, Energy, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables,HealthCare, Metal, Auto, Basic Materials and Capital Goods sectors.

ONGC ( 1.80%), Coal India (2.22%), and Tata Motors(1.22%) led the gains, while Bharti Airtel (2.05%), Wipro (-1.93%) and Yes Bank (-1.64%) registered the most losses at market close.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth massive Rs 2,326.10 crore on net basis while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 1,699.74 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

US stocks closed on a higher note yesterday, albeit with wild swings witnessed during the day’s trading.