BSE, NSE end in red after hitting fresh lifetime highs

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit fresh lifetime high levels before closing flat due to profit-taking in select banking and telecom shares amid concerns over rich valuations on Tuesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 34.74 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 79,441.45 in a volatile trade.

During the day, it jumped 379.68 points or 0.47 per cent to hit a record peak of 79,855.87.

The Nifty declined by 18.10 points or 0.07 per cent to 24,123.85.

Intra-day, it climbed 94.4 points or 0.39 per cent to hit a lifetime high of 24,236.35.

Among the Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India and Titan were the biggest laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and Tata Steel were the biggest gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory on Tuesday, while Seoul ended lower.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.66 per cent to $87.17 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 426.03 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.