Market at a loss for direction as Sensex ends in red

TIL Desk/Business/Mumbai-Sensex slipped into reverse gear today as it wiped off yesterday’s paltry gains by closing 75 points lower, with investors taking a cautious line before start of the earnings season next week amid muted overseas cues. It was a weekly loss for the market too, with the Sensex and the Nifty losing 18.01 points (0.06 per cent) and 5.15 points (0.06 per cent), respectively.

The corporate earnings season is officially going to kick off from July 15, when Infosys is due to come out with its results. Asia remained weak as US payroll data, which essentially serve as a pointer to the health of the American economy and are scheduled to be released on Friday, added to the level of suspense.

Despite all the global headwinds, an above-average monsoon so far and a strong chance of passage of the long-pending GST Bill in the upcoming Monsoon session are giving investors some early hopes. Weighed down by fresh selling, mostly due to profit-booking in blue-chips, the Sensex remained in a range-bound before ending lower by 74.59 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 27,126.90. As many as 16 lost while 14 gained.