Markets retreat from record highs; Sensex falls 216 points

Sensex and Nifty closed lower on June 19 amid a bearish trend in global markets and profit booking.

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty pared early gains to close lower on Monday as investors offloaded telecom, power and utility stocks amid a bearish trend in global markets and profit booking.

Besides, intense selling in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank counters also hit investor sentiments, traders said.

After hitting its lifetime high on Friday, the 30-share BSE index fell 216.28 points or 0.34% to settle at 63,168.30. During the day, it declined 336.75 points or 0.53% to 63,047.83.

The NSE Nifty went lower by 70.55 points or 0.37% to end at 18,755.45. The index registered its lifetime peak of 18,826 on Friday.

There was accelerated selling, particularly in the afternoon trade, dragging the key indices from record highs. "Indian equities shied away from closing at all-time high levels amid profit-booking, primarily driven by private banks. Global markets also took a breather after a strong rally last week as investors looked forward to China’s rate decision and the Fed chair's testimony," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest loser from the Sensex pack, skidding 1.83%, followed by Axis Bank, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Nestle.

In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC and ITC were the gainers.