MUMBAI: Market was not too much enthused by a 21% hike in capital outlay announced in the
Rail Budget 2016
as the benchmark
sensex slipped below the key 23,000-mark briefly before shaping up.
Traders said cutting down on bets by cautious participants in view of expiry of February derivatives contracts kept sentiment fragile.
The 50-share Nifty tumbled to 6,997.40, down 21.30 points, or 0.30%, at 1354 hours.
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu proposed increasing capital outlay for the Railways, the world's fourth-largest rail network, by 21 per cent to Rs 1.21 lakh crore.
The 30-share sensex started higher at 23,105.16 and hovered in a range of 23,142.96 and 22,990.53 before quoting at 23,006.63 at 1354 hours, a loss of 82.30 points, or 0.36%.
Shares of companies linked to the rail sector racked up losses, led by BEML, Kernex Microsystems, Titagarh Wagons and Kalindee Rail, which declined by up to over 5%.
Among major indices, IT dropped 1.19% followed by utilities 1.87%, power 1.33% and technology 1.10%.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth net Rs 730.99 crore yesterday, provisional data from the stock exchanges showed.