Late recovery saves Sensex from big fall; ends 144 points down

Mumbai: The market benchmark Sensex staged a spectacular recovery from over 600-point deficit logged in early trade, but still settled 144 points lower at 26,121.40 on BJP-led NDA's defeat in Bihar assembly polls.

Market commenced in the red on major sell-off following the BJP-led NDA's defeat in Bihar assembly polls but revival of buying after Fitch said the verdict is unlikely to have any major implications on the economic front helped recovery.

Positive statements on election result from global financial services majors including Citigroup, Nomura and Bank of America Merrill Lynch also helped dissipate some fears.

Citi said it remained positive on the country's economic cycle and the market, despite BJP's defeat.

Falling for a fourth day, the 30-share index after dipping below the crucial 26,000-level in opening trade to touch a low of 25,656.90, staged a comeback to close 143.84 points or 0.55 percent down at over one-month low of 26,121.40 after touching a high of 26,193.17.

The gauge had cumulatively lost 325.35 points in previous three days.

On similar lines, the Nifty NSE, which slipped below the 7,800-level at the outset and hit a low of 7,771.70, bounced back at a rapid pace to touch session's high of 7,937.75 and concluded 39.10 points, or 0.49 percent down at 7,915.20.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading 77 paise lower against dollar.

Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 settled lower.

Shares of Sun Pharma emerged as the top loser among Sensex constituents by tumbling 5.82 percent after the firm reported a 46 percent dip in consolidated net profit.

Other major losers included, BHEL, Dr Reddy's, GAIL, Wipro, Cipla, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, L&T, Coal India, ONGC, Hindalco, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Bajaj Auto.

On the other hand, gains in Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Vedanta, ITC, SBI, Lupin, RIL, Tata Steel, M&M and Axis Bank helped in cushioning the fall.

Sectorally, the BSE realty index fell the most by 2.20 percent while healthcare, infrastructure, capital goods, power, IT and banking also slumped.

Broader markets outperformed the Sensex, with small-cap index gaining 0.78 percent and mid-cap rising 0.42 percent.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.61 percent lower but Japan's Nikkei stood out as it closed 1.96 percent higher. European indices were slightly higher in early trade.