Sensex drops 123 points, Nifty holds on to 10,800

Sensex had closed at over four month high of 35,739.16 on Wednesday.

Mumbai: Stock market opened flat on Thursday but slipped into negative zone minutes into the trading.

The BSE Sensex, which had closed at over four month high of 35,739.16 on Wednesday, was trading 123.36 points 0.35 percent at 35,615.80.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, which had closed at 10,856.70 points on Wednesday, was quoting at 10,814.00 points, down by 42.70 points or 0.39 percent.

Investors turned cautious following US Federal Reserve's rate hike. Laggards included Yes Bank, Coal India, Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports, Reliance, TCS, Heromoto Corp, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Axis Bank, Wipro and SBIN, falling by up to 1.29 percent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 70.77 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 486.78 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

On the back of healthy industrial production data the key Indian equity indices on Wednesday traded in the green with boosted investor sentiments and significant buying was witnessed in healthcare, consumer durables and banking stocks.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.25 percent in early trade. South Korea`s KOSPI was off 0.9 percent, while Australia`s market slipped 0.2 percent.

Japan`s Nikkei shed 0.7 percent.

With Agency Inputs