BSE Sensex closed 108.68 points lower at 34,903.21, while the Nifty 50 ended 35.35 points down at 10,593.15. Here are the highlights from the markets

Benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE’s Nifty 50 fell for the second straight day on Tuesday as investor turned cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s policy statement on Wednesday. Of the 15 economists surveyed by Mint, 11 expect the central bank to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6%. Moreover, a survey showed that India’s services PMI declined for the first time in three months following weak demand. The Indian rupee weakened marginally against the US dollar on Tuesday. Shares in Europe and Asia traded higher following heavy gains in US stocks supported by tech stocks.

3.35 pm IST
Closing bell: Sensex, Nifty close lower for 2nd day
BSE Sensex closed lower by 108.68 points, or 0.31%, to 34,903.21, while the Nifty 50 fell 35.35 points, or 0.33%, to close at 10,593.15. BSE MidCap and SmallCap lost 1.20% and 2.43%, respectively.
All the sectoral indices on BSE, except energy and oil and gas, declined with telecom losing most at 3.08%, capital goods 1.96%, industrials 1.80% and healthcare 1.40%.
Tata Steel, Reliance, Maruti Suzuki and HDFC Bank were top gainers, whereas Bharti Airtel, L&T, Dr. Reddy’s Labs and Coal India were among the major losers.

3.08 pm IST
Bharat Financial gets nod for merger with IndusInd
Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd said that it has received no-objection nod from stock exchanges for its merger with private sector lender IndusInd Bank. Bharat Financial shares rose 1.42% to Rs1,160.10, while InduInd Bank gained 0.26% to Rs1902.
2.27 pm IST
Market update: Sensex, Nifty extend losses
BSE Sensex traded lower by 181.31 points, or 0.52%, to 34,830.58, while the Nifty 50 fell 63.10 points, or 0.59%, to 10,565.40.

source: livemint.com