Markets Halt 7-Day Rally; RIL, Finance Stocks Weigh

Equity benchmarks ended lower on Tuesday, putting a break to their seven-day rally, amid weak Asian market cues and mixed trends from European stocks.
     
The 30-share BSE benchmark failed to hold on the early gains and declined 287.70 points or 0.48 per cent to finish at 59,543.96. During the day, it hit a low of 59,489.02 and a high of 60,081.24.
     
On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty fell 74.40 points or 0.42 per cent to end at 17,656.35.
     
In the Sensex pack, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were among the major laggards.
     
Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, Dr Reddy's, State Bank of India and NTPC were among the winners.
     
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower, while Tokyo finished higher.
     
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended higher on Monday.
     
In a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on Monday to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2079, the BSE benchmark jumped 524.51 points or 0.88 per cent to end at 59,831.66. The Nifty advanced 154.45 points, or 0.88 per cent, to finish at 17,730.75.
     
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.27 per cent lower at USD 92.08 per barrel.
     
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 153.89 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.