Sensex declines 352 points on profit taking, weak global trends

Sensex drops 352 points due to profit-taking in IT, metal, and consumer durable goods shares amid weak global trends.

Closing in the red for the second straight session, benchmark Sensex on Monday declined 352 points due to profit-taking in IT, metal and consumer durable goods shares amid weak global trends.

The 30-share BSE barometer closed at 72,790.13 points, down 352.67 points or 0.48% over the previous close. As many as 26 index constituents declined while four advanced.

The broader Nifty of NSE dropped 90.65 points or 0.41% to end the day at 22,122.05 points and 37 stocks in the index were in the red.

Selling in index heavyweights, including Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries, dragged the benchmark indices into the negative for the second straight session, analysts said.

Among the Sensex shares, Asian Paints fell the most by 3.9% as analysts expressed concerns over rising competition in the domestic paints market following the entry of Aditya Birla group company Grasim Industries into the paints segment.

IT shares Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra continued to slide amid inflation concerns in the U.S. market.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Titan, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and Maruti were among the other Sensex losers.