New Delhi: Stock markets opened in positive zone on Monday but failed to hold gains in choppy trade.
The benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 34.30 points, or 0.11 per cent to 35,703 while the Nifty was down 23 points or 0.21 percent to 10,731 in early trade.
Top losers were Hero MotoCorp, Vedanta, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paint and HDFC Bank fell up to 3 percent.
On the other hand, major gainers were Sun Pharma, Infosys, TCS, SBI, ITC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Bharti Airtel, M&M and Coal India, rising up to 2.12 percent.
Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 134.14 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 488.55 crore Friday, provisional data showed.
Markets will remain closed tomorrow on account of Christmas.
Meanwhile, the rupee gained 8 paise against the US dollar Monday to trade at 70.10 in on selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. On Friday, the rupee snapped its four-day rising streak by falling 48 paise to close at 70.18 against the US currency due to month-end dollar demand and sharp losses in domestic equities.
Asian stocks were subdued on Monday as investors fretted that political instability in the United States was leaving the country rudderless at a time when the global economy was showing signs of faltering, a Reuters report said.
Moves were limited by a holiday in Japan while many bourses are set to close early for Christmas. MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.5 percent to its lowest in seven weeks.
With Agency Inputs
