Nifty closes below 5,000; telecom, tech, realty, FMCG drag

The Nifty snapped a five-day wining streak and closed the session below the 5,000 mark on the back of selling in telecom, technology, FMCG, realty and infrastructure stocks. The markets traded in a narrow range and remained weak for major part of the session but unwinding of positions in largecaps ahead of settlement day (on Thursday) exerted pressure in the late trade.

Asian markets ended lower; Shanghai lost 1.89% and Taiwan Weighted down 1.24%. Hang Seng and Kospi fell over 0.4% each. Straits Times was flat. European markets & the US index futures came off their highs and were marginally in the green.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies like Reliance Communications, Reliance Power, RNRL, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Capital also declined 2-3%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 166.93 points or 0.99%, to settle at 16,719.50, after seeing an intraday high of 16,905.58 and low of 16,683.78. The 50-share NSE Nifty shut shop at 4969.95, down 1% or 50.25 points, after witnessing a range of 4957.05-5030.75. The broader indices underperformed the benchmark indices, down over 1.2%.

Deven Choksey of KR Choksey Securities said one should remain a little cautious particularly because of the derivative segment and the put-call ratio (PCR). "Whenever PCR has inched closer to level two in past, I think the market has fallen. So from that perspective if one is cautious, it is justified."

"Valuation is definitely a concern. As of now we believe that 5,150 would be the level at which Nifty would struggle and maybe it would take support at around 4,890-4,850 levels in the fall," he added.