Lacklustre trades continue as auto shares fall

Bharti Airtel leads losses with over 5% drop, metal sharesa also drop in red

Markets continued to trade on a lacklustre note ahead of Thursday's and options expiry. The Sensex, after touching a high of 18,690 was flat at 18633. Nifty was unchanged at 5,611.

Broader markets were mixed. While BSE mid-cap index declined 12 points to 5,844, the small cap index remained in the green at 5,586 - up 16 odd points.

Meanwhile in Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average closed below the 13,000-mark on Wednesday in volatile trade as worries about a cash crunch in China continued despite assurances from Beijing's central bank that it will offer funds to banks if needed.

"If you look at Nifty Options data Put writers are showing confidence at 5600 strike, hinting that Thursday's F&O expiry will be around 5600-5620 as writing of Calls at 5700 strike continue with heavy pressure. We therefore advise traders to ignore any bias seen in the market hinting at any major recovery or bounce-back.," said Somil Mehta, Sr Technical Analyst (Equity), Sharekhan.

BSE power index added 1.2% at 1559. IT was up 1.2% at 5,990. Capital goods, oil & gas and realty indices were up 0.5-1% each. On the other hand, BSE auto index was down 1.5% at 10.374. Marginal weakness was also visible in metal and healthcare shares.

Telecom stocks declined on reports of likely meeting on the telecom sector today to decide on spectrum price for the proposed third round of auction of airwaves. Moreover, Bharti Airtel shed on reports the Department of Telecom (DoT) has decided to slap a Rs 650 crore penalty on the company for violating roaming norms in 13 circles between 2003-2005. Bharti Airtel was down 5.3% at Rs 280.

Auto shares - Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki were down 1-4% each. Metal names were also in the red with Jindal Steel and Hindalco leading the losses.

On the other hand, NTPC added 2% at Rs 141. Gail India and TCS were up 1.5-2% each, followed by Larsen & Toubro, Tata POwer and Hero MOtocorp.

BSE market breadth was neutral. Out of 2012 stocks traded, 943 shares delcined while 941 shares advanced.