Sensex extends losses for 3rd session, ends lower by 30 points

The BSE benchmark sensex washed out early gains and even continued to decline for the third consecutive session, declining by another 30 points to end at 19,751.19 due to fag-end selling pressure from operators triggered by weak openings in European markets in spite of persistent capital inflows.

Shares of PSU, Healthcare, Power, Oil & Gas and Metal sectors were the major losers due to heavy selling pressure.

Selling in heavyweights like SBI, RIL, ITC, ONGC, Cipla, BHEL and Dr Reddy's Lab mainly weighed on the market while rise in HDFC, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank restricted the sensex fall to some extent.

In all, 12 out of 13 sectoral indices closed with losses while only BSE-Auto finished in the green.

Second-line stocks were the worst sufferer and as a result, their indices underperformed the sensex. The BSE-Midcap and the BSE-Smallcap settled down by 0.83 pct and 0.71 pct respectively.

The BSE benchmark Sensex opened higher and firmed up further to a high of 19,902.60 on the back of renewed buying mainly in Auto, Realty, Consumer Durable and Banking sectors.

Sustained buying by foreign funds boosted the market till the late morning trade as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 763.28 crore last Friday, as as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

However, the sensex failed to maintain initial gains and dropped by 30 points to finish at 19,751.19 triggered by lower advices from Euorpean markets.

The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the NSE also eased further by 11.65 points or 0.19 pct to 5,987.25. .