The NSE index Nifty ended the session marginally lower, after earlier breaching 10,000 points for the first time, due to profit-booking by investors in recent gainers.
The NSE benchmark made history breaching the 10,000 level for the first time by hitting an all-time high of 10,011.30 at the outset, led by stronger-than-expected earnings by blue-chips and continuous buying by foreign funds and domestic institutions.
Also, steady monsoon progress and smooth GST take-off helped both the key indices scale historic highs.
But a wave of profit-booking dragged the Nifty down by 1.85 points, or 0.02 per cent, to settle at 9,964.55. Similarly, the 30-share BSE index Sensex closed down by 17.6 points or 0.05 per cent at 32,228.27, after earlier rising as much as 0.40 per cent to an all-time high of 32,374.30.
Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index was up 1.43 per cent, followed by realty 0.65 per cent, banking 0.44 per cent and TECk 0.42 per cent. On the other hand, capital goods index fell 0.51 per cent, auto 0.41 per cent, FMCG and healthcare 0.33 per cent each.
Top five Sensex gainers were Axis Bank (+1.94%), Bharti Airtel (+1.76%), TCS (+1.5%), Tata Steel (+1.03%) and Adani Ports (+0.68%), while the major losers were Lupin (-1.96%), Tata Motors (-1.61%), Coal India (-1.07%), Cipla (-0.89%) and Sun Pharma (-0.81%).
“Market made a historical day by touching 10k supported by better earnings from blue-chips and strong liquidity.
However, profit-booking at higher levels pulled the market to mild correction due to psychological effect, muted Q1 results for midcaps and awaiting Fed monetary policy meet,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Participants also looked up to US Federal Reserve policy meeting later today. Key indices in the Asian region lay low.
FII inflows
The NSE has surged 22 per cent this year, just behind South Korea's and Hong Kong's markets, in a broad-based rally fuelled by a surge in foreign investments and flows from retail investors buying into mutual funds for the first time.
Both investors have bet heavily that economic growth will accelerate from 6.1 per cent in the January-March quarter, boosting corporate earnings. Hopes are also high for economic and fiscal reforms after the government unveiled a national goods and services tax this month.
Still, valuation concerns linger: the NSE was trading at around 21 times 12-month forward price-to-earnings, compared with a five-year average of 17.91.
“It is a historical moment given Nifty touched the key psychological mark,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head Research for Equity for Centrum Wealth.
“However we can expect a consolidation at higher levels given the rich valuations towards the end of the current corporate results season,” he added.
As per provisional data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 366.84 crore yesterday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 668.87 crore.
The dollar crept up from a 13-month low on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected readings on US factory and services activity ahead of the start of a Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, but Asian stocks were subdued.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trade, with a number of markets looking for fresh impetus after hitting multi-year highs in recent weeks.