NEW DELHI: Trust a no-trust motion to wreck it all. Stock flagships Sensex and Nifty surrendered all their days gains moments after a no-confidence motion against the Modi government was moved and admitted in the Lok Sabha.
It was then a rush hour moment to take profit. Weakness in the rupee, mixed movement in Asia and continuous FII pullout hastened the fall.
The 30-scrip BSE index, which hit a fresh life high of 36,748 early in the day, couldn't stay on top for long and closed down 146.52 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 36,373.44. The 50-share index Nifty settled lower 27.60 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 10,980.45.
"The House will take up the debate (on the motion) on Friday, July 20th. The discussion will be held for the full day, followed by voting on it," Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said.
Market failed to maintain the initial positive momentum as the government got the no-confidence motion, adding to the anxiety level of investors, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services .
"Mid and small caps faced selling pressure due to profit booking after Tuesdays rally while metal index was seen underperforming. Market participants are likely to stay on the sidelines as the no- confidence motion will be taken up on Friday," he added.
Tata Steel (down 5.33 per cent), Hindalco (3.01 per cent), Vedanta (2.95 per cent), UPL (2.54 per cent) and Tata Motors (2.48 per cent) pulled down the Nifty index. Indiabulls Housing Finance (up 4.03 per cent), ONGC (2.66 per cent), BPCL (2.25 per cent), HPCL (1.78 per cent) and IOC (1.61 per cent) were the stars of the day.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net offloaded shares worth Rs 673.99 crore in the previous session. But domestic institutional investors (DIIs) saved the blushes purchasing shares worth a net of Rs 840.06 crore, NSE data showed.
Sectorwise, the BSE Metal index went down 3.12 per cent, followed by realty (2.42 per cent) and Telecom (1.85 per cent). The BSE Oil & Gas (up 1.07 per cent) stood out as the only gainer on the exchange.
Asian peers ended mixed even as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's upbeat economic view bolstered investors' confidence in the world's largest economy. Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Korea's Kospi all dropped up to 0.35 per cent. Nikkei and Taiwan Weighted ruled firm though.
[contf] [contfnew] 
ET Markets
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
