Markets end flat
Most of the sectors face the heat of selling pressure
Markets ended today's rangebound session on a flat note. The Sensex provisionally ended higher by 8 points at 18,763 and the Nifty gained 4 points to end at 5,702.
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(Updated at 1436 hours)
Markets are trading on a subdued note in the late noon deals on the back of negative global cues ahead of the US Presidential elections which are due tomorrow. The Sensex is down 53 points at 18,702 and the 50-share Nifty has slipped 10 points at 5,687.
The Asian markets fell on Monday and the dollar firmed as investors shied away from risk ahead of the closely fought US Presidential election, the result of which could define a clear direction for broader markets.
The Hang Seng slipped 105 points or 22,006, Nikkei slipped 44 points to 9,007, Shanghai Composite edged lower by 3 points to 2,114 and the Seoul Composite index closed weaker by 10 points at 1,908 levels.
The political uncertainty in the world's largest economy made investors wary of holdings riskier assets, and their safe-haven bids buoyed the US dollar to two-month highs against a basket of major currencies.
US President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were neck-and-neck in opinion polls in the final 48 hours before Tuesday's vote.
Obama's re-election is perceived as negative for equities, while markets see Romney as stock-friendly, analysts have said.
After the US election, Congress must deal with a "fiscal cliff", up to $600 billion in expiring tax cuts and spending reductions that are set to kick in next year, which threatens the US economy.
In Europe also the markets were trading on a weak note with CAC 40, DAX and FTSE 100 slipping 0.6-0.7% each.
Back home, Hindalco from the metal space is the top Sensex loser, down 2.6% at Rs 115. Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, GAIL India, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Wipro, ONGC and Reliance Industries are also facing the heat of selling pressure, down 0.3-2.5% each.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, ITC, BHEL, HDFC Bank, Coal India, Sterlite Industries and TCS are among the notable gainers.
Most of the sectors are facing the selling pressure. The BSE auto index is the top loser, down 0.8% or 86 points at 10,604. Power, metal, IT, capital goods, oil & gas and PSU indices are also down 0.3-0.6% each. While, FMCG, healthcare and consumer durable indices are up 0.1-0.5% each.
Among the individual stocks, Allahabad Bank has dipped 7% to Rs 129 after reporting 52% year-on-year fall in net profit at Rs 234 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012, due to lower interest income and higher provisioning for bad loans.Analyst on an average had estimated profit of Rs 454 crore from the state-owned bank.
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) is trading higher by 3.3% at Rs 1,466, a record high since its listing in March 2012, after the board declared an interim dividend of Rs 12 per equity share (120%) of face value Rs 10 each for the current financial year 2012-13.
Jet Airways (India) is trading higher by 4% at Rs 376, extending its Friday’s 3% gain after reporting an operating profit of Rs 453 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012, against a loss of Rs 258 crore in a year ago quarter.
Crompton Greaves has tanked 11% to Rs 109 in opening trades after reporting 64% year-on-year (yoy) fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 42 crore in the September 2012 quarter due to weakness in its overseas operations. Revenues however, grew by 8% at Rs 2,924 crore on y-o-y basis.
The broader markets are also trading with a negative bias with the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices up 0.1- and 0.2% each.
The overall breadth is negative as 1,463 stocks are declining while 1,282 are advancing.