Late selling halts 9-day winning run, Sensex down 63 points

Stocks took a breather today after nine sessions of gains owing to a rush among investors to book profits towards the fag-end amid sustained foreign fund outflows even as global cues were positive.

The BSE Sensex, after resuming higher at 34,443.42, advanced to hit a high of 34,591.81 on buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) as well as retail participants.

However, investors preferred to lock in gains towards the close of the session, with the benchmark finally ending at 34,331.68, down 63.38 points, or 0.18 per cent.

The gauge had risen 1,375.99 points, or 4.17 per cent in the previous nine sessions.

Likewise, the 50-stock NSE barometer Nifty finished 22.50 points, or 0.21 per cent, down at 10,526.20 after hitting the day's high of 10,594.20 and a low of 10,509.70.

It had gained 420.30 points, or 4.15 per cent in the past nine sessions.

Investor sentiment got a boost after the IMF yesterday said India is expected to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2018 and 7.8 per cent in 2019, leaving its nearest rival China behind.