Sensex loses gains, ends negative on geo-political tension

Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex gave up its early gains to end in the red Tuesday, breaking its three-day winning spell, amid weak global cues due to geo-political concerns.

Tension flared up on the Korean peninsula after North Korea launched a missile ahead of the G-20 meet slated to begin in Hamburg this weekend.

The Sensex started higher and even touched a high of 31,353.46, but worries about the missile launch spooked investors towards the fag end. The gauge settled at 31,209.79, down 11.83 points, or 0.04 percent, in line with weak Asian shares.

The gauge had gained 387.30 points in the previous three straight sessions making a strong bet on the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The 50-share NSE Nifty too settled in the negative terrain by falling 1.70 points, or 0.02 percent, to 9,613.30. Intra-day, it shuttled between 9,650.65 and 9,595.50.

Axis Bank was the top loser with a loss of 2.08 percent, followed by Hero MotoCorp.