Markets declined on Tuesday after closing at lifetime highs on Monday. The BSE Sensex was trading 128.26 points or 0.58% lower at 21,808.59 points, while the NSE Nifty was trading 29.95 points or 0.46% lower at 6,507.30 points at 3.00 pm IST.
According to experts, markets were due for correction. “The markets have rallied, while the economy remains weak. We cam expect further correction,” said Andrew Holland, CEO, Ambit Investment Advisors. On Monday, the Sensex closed at its lifetime high of 21934.83 points, while Nifty closed at its lifetime high of 6537.25.
Among sectoral indices, the BSE Metal (-3.57%), BSE Healthcare (-1.05%) and BSE Bankex (0.73%) were the major losers. Among individual stocks, Tata Steel (-5.64%), Sesa Sterlite Ltd (-3.85%) and Hindalco Industries (-3.77%) were the major losers.
Meanwhile, most Asian indices were trading higher. The Nikkei (0.69%), Hang Seng (0.02%), Kospi (0.48%), Straits Times (0.09%) and Shanghai Composite (0.10%) were trading in the green.
Back home, the trade deficit for February narrowed to $8.1 billion, even as exports declined 3.67% y-o-y to $25,69 billion. “The fall in exports indicate that economy is slowing down a bit,” Holland added.