Markets decline amid FII outflows, H1B concerns

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the third consecutive day Tuesday in a volatile trade, dragged by selling in IT and blue-chip private banking shares and foreign fund outflows amid concerns over the steep hike in US H-1B visa fees.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

After oscillating between gains and losses during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed lower by 57.87 points or 0.07 per cent at 82,102.10. During the day, it hit a high of 82,370.38 and a low of 81,776.53, fluctuating by 593.85 points.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 32.85 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,169.50.

Buying in auto and select public sector banks cushioned the losses, analysts said.

Among Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eternal and ITC were the major laggards. Selling in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices.

However, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and State Bank of India were among the gainers.