Mumbai : Breaking a three-day gaining streak, key Indian equity indices closed on a lower note on Wednesday as investors booked profits ahead of the release of important macro-data as well as quarterly earnings results of corporates, according to market observers.

Besides, heavy selling pressure in metal, banking and automobile stocks, along with outflow of foreign funds, kept investors’ sentiments subdued.

The wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) once again slipped below the psychologically important 10,000-mark — which was reclaimed on Tuesday — to close lower by 32.15 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 9,984.80 points.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened higher at 31,975.59 points, closed at 31,833.99 points — down 90.42 points, or 0.28 per cent, from its previous close.

The BSE market breadth was bearish — 1,840 declines and 918 advances.

“Nifty showed a bout of volatility in today’s session and closed the day lower by 32 points. Nifty showing sharp intra-day weakness from the highs today is opening up the possibility for more weakness for the coming sessions,” Deepak Jasani, Head – Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

“Sectorally, except IT and energy, all the sectors of broader market have closed in the negative. Major Asian markets have ended on mixed trend, while European indices like FTSE 100 and CAC 40 traded lower and DAX traded higher.”

In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index fell by 0.82 per cent, while the small-cap index closed lower by 1.08 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: “The market failed to hold the opening positive momentum as profit booking emerged towards close due to cautiousness on tomorrow’s (Thursday) CPI (Consumer Price Index) and IIP (Index of Industrial Production) data.”

“Additionally, earnings season will kick-start tomorrow with the result of IT heavyweights and market will take direction from the expectation and the actual numbers,” said Nair.

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is expected to be the first blue-chip company to come out with its second quarter (Q2) results on October 12.

“September quarter earnings season is expected to be subdued due to the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Market heavyweights TCS and Reliance Industries are slated to post results later this week,” said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.

On the currency front, the rupee strengthened by 13-14 paise to close at 65.14-15 against the US dollar from its previous close at 65.28.

In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrips worth Rs 107.95 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 233.80 crore.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE banking index declined by 264.31 points, followed by metal index by 202.63 points and automobile index by 158.88 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE oil and gas index rose by 170.86 points, telecom index by 38.33 points and Teck index by 37.36 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Wednesday were: Bharti Airtel, up 5.04 per cent at Rs 403.40; TCS, up 1.66 per cent at Rs 2,500.50; Wipro, up 1.43 per cent at Rs 290.65; Mahindra and Mahindra, up 1.30 per cent at Rs 1,319.70; and Hindustan Unilever, up 0.32 per cent at Rs 1,212.

Major Sensex losers were: Tata Motors, down 2.02 per cent at Rs 415.25; State Bank of India, down 1.97 per cent at Rs 251.60; Dr. Reddy’s Lab, down 1.47 per cent at Rs 2,374.90; Lupin, down 1.42 per cent at Rs 1,045.50; and Tata Steel, down 1.40 per cent at Rs 681.

—IANS