Markets give up early gains; trade lower

MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks began the trade on a positive note on Tuesday following firm trends in other Asian markets but later gave up all initial gains and were trading lower amid profit-taking.

Extending its previous day rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex had jumped 404.21 points to 60,970.63 in initial trade. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 119.45 points to 18,134.05.

However, later the 30-share BSE benchmark pared all early gains and quoted 74.9 points lower at 60,491.52, while the Nifty traded 15.10 points down at 17,999.50.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Titan, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance were the major winners.

Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were trading in the green.

Markets in the US were closed on Monday.

''Volatility is likely to be the hallmark in the near-term amidst December F&O expiry this Thursday,'' said Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE benchmark rallied 721.13 points or 1.20 per cent to settle at 60,566.42 on Monday. The Nifty advanced 207.80 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 18,014.60.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.67 per cent to USD 84.48 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 497.65 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.