Sensex ends down 68 points

Cutting short the 3-day gains,Sensex took a breather on Tuesday and ended 68 pts lower.

Cutting short the three-day gains,the BSE benchmark Sensex took a breather on Tuesday and ended 68 points lower as profit booking in blue-chip financial and FMCG stocks weighed against investor sentiments amid not-so bad global cues.

In a choppy session on Dalal Street,the Bombay Stock Exchange8217;s 30-share index settled at 20,407.71,down by 68.02 points,or 0.33 per cent. During the trade,the index moved in a range of 20,560.54 to 0,383.16 points.

gained 520 points in last three trading sessions.

The 50-share Nifty Index of the National Stock Exchange too ended 0.22 per cent lower at 6.145.80.

Analysts said market took a breather on account of profit booking though sentiment from the overseas markets was quite positive.

8220;Market has been rallying at a very fast pace and in such a scenario a minor profit booking cannot be termed as a surprise movement,8221; Bonanza Portfolio Vice President Avinash Gupta said,adding that 8220;consolidation may continue in coming days8221;.

Banking stocks suffered the most,with HDFC plunging by 2.38 per cent,the most in the Sensex pack,and HDFC Bank 1.80 per cent. ICICI Bank lost 0.89 per cent and SBI 0.21 per cent.

8220;These stocks have rallied sharply in recent past and now are seeing some correction,8221; Gupta said

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FMCG stocks also saw some selling pressure. HUL declined by 1.72 per cent and ITC by 0.91 per cent.

Gains recorded on consumer durables,power,auto and oil amp; gas counters were offset by losses suffered by FMCG,banking and consumer goods companies.

Lamp;T dropped by 0.63 per cent,Bharti Airtel by 1.6 per cent and NTPC by 0.69 per cent.

However,Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries continued its rising journey for another day and ended 0.53 per cent up at Rs 1,023.25.

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Smart buying was also witnessed in the Anil Ambani Group firms. RCom climbed 3.22 per cent 8212; the most in the BSE-30,followed by R-Infra that jumped 3.07 per cent,Reliance Natural Resources was up 5.82 per cent,Reliance Power 4.50 per cent,RelCap 4.37 per cent and Reliance Broadcast Network 4.95 per cent.

Reliance Media Works was a star performer,with the stock shooting up over 35 per cent on strong volume.