Sensex slips by 109 points for second straight day

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex on Tuesday fell by 109 points for the second straight session to close at near two-week low of 27,253.44 as pharma major Lupin came under selling pressure on disappointing Q2 numbers while weak global cues ahead of a US Fed meet added to the fall. The barometer index had slipped by 109 points on Monday as well, bogged down by subdued numbers of heavyweights, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Ltd.

Brokers said, caution ahead of October derivatives expiry on Thursday too influenced sentiment. Moreover, investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which starts on Tuesday. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened lower at 27,291.06 and stayed in the negative terrain throughout the session to touch a low of 27,209.52 before settling 108.52 points or 0.40 per cent down at 27,253.44.

This is gauge's lowest closing since October 16 and has lost 217.37 points in last two sessions. Out of 30 Sensex stocks, 17 ended in the negative zone. The 50-issue NSE Nifty also dropped by 24.05 points or 0.30 per cent to end at 8,235.40 after shuttling between 8,241.95 and 8,217.05, intra-day. Market mood took a beating on dismal earnings by Lupin, which posted a 35.11 per cent dip in its net profit at Rs 408.80 crore for the second quarter.

The drug major was the worst performer on Sensex and Nifty with over 5 per cent plunge. Maruti Suzuki, however, emerged as the top gainer on both the indexes after its Q2 net profit jumped 42.1 per cent to Rs 1,225.6 crore. Sectorwise, the BSE consumer durables index suffered the most by losing 1.43 per cent, followed by infra 0.77 per cent, capital goods 0.70 per cent, PSU 0.66 per cent, oil & gas 0.66 per cent and metal 0.48 per cent.

Broader markets, however, outperformed the Sensex with BSE mid-cap index rising 0.16 per cent and small-cap gaining 0.15 per cent. Meanwhile, Asian markets closed lower and Europe was weak in morning deals as investors awaited the start of the Federal Reserve meeting, hoping for more guidance on its timetable for hiking interest rates.

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