Sensex down 400 pts as investors rush to book profit

Mumbai, May 23: The S&P BSE Sensex , at 3.17 p.m., fell over 400 points or 1.02 per cent to 38,709.95 after hitting a record high of 40,124.96 as investors rushed to book profit.

The Nifty fell by 86.05 points or 0.73 per cent to 11,651.85.

Earlier during the afternoon, the Sensex began retreating after it surpassed the 40,000 mark within minutes into days trade.

"Indian equity market as expected touched the historic figure of 12,041 and touched a new all-time high.

"Markets seem to have discounted the magical mandate in favour of BJP. At the same time, we see there is some profit booking that is coming in at higher levels," said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research.