Profit booking in afternoon trade ahead of the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government saw the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex close marginally lower on Monday.

Though the benchmarks were up around 1 per cent for most of the trading session, profit booking started at about 2.15 pm and continued until the close.

The Nifty closed eight points down, at 7,359, while the Sensex shed 24 points to close at 24,717.

“After a sharp rally, a correction on account of profit booking was largely expected, and healthy from the market point of view, as it gives an opportunity for investors to enter at reasonable levels,” said Rikesh Parikh, VP, Institution Corporate Broking, Motilal Oswal Securities.

FIIs recorded a turnover of over ₹11,500 crore before closing the day with a net sell position of ₹84 crore. Domestic institutional investors were net sellers of equities worth ₹208 crore while retail investors on the BSE were net buyers of equities worth ₹116 crore.

“The swearing in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister represents a huge shift for the country. It is worth noting that whilst Modi and the BJP are pro-reform, they are also nationalist. This means that India will come first and any reform led by foreign investment will take time,” said Steven O’Hanlon, Head, Fixed Income, ACPI Investment Managers.

Along with a strong RBI, the BJP has the opportunity to create a platform for reform, investment and growth, he said.

Barring IT and auto indices, all the broader and sectoral indices closed in the red.

Volatility was high and the India Vix index was up 12 per cent, closing at 19.84.

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