Markets end flat amid volatility

Key share indices ended marginally lower on Thursday, amid a volatile trading session following the expiry of March derivative contracts, because of selling pressure in software shares along with engineering major Larsen & Toubro.

The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended down 31 points   at 17,091 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 16 points at 5,179.  

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(Updated at 14:31hrs)

Markets have come off the intra-day low levels in the late noon deals. However, they continue to trade in the red. The Sensex is down 104 points at 17,017 and the Nifty has shed 32 points to 5,162 levels.

Meanwhile, the European markets have opened on a subdued note. CAC is down 7 points at 3,423, DAX has shed 20 points to 6,978 levels and the FTSE is down 16 points at 5,793 levels.

Back home, all the sectoral indices barring healthcare and consumer durable indices are trading lower. Capital goods, FMCG and IT stocks are amongst the worst hit in trades so far.

The BSE Capital Goods index is the top sectoral loser down 1.4% or 145 points at 9,850. FMCG index has shed 54 points to 4,418 levels. IT, Teck, Power, Realty, Oil & Gas, PSU, Auto, Bankex and Metal indices have also shed 0.2-1.2% each.

From the capital goods space, BEML, Alstom Projects, AIA Engineering, Siemens, BHEL, Crompton Greaves, L&T and Suzlon Energy are among the top losers.

Tata Global Beverages is the top loser among the FMCG stocks, down 2.2% to Rs 107. ITC, HUL, Nestle, GCPL, Junilant Foodworks, Marico and Colgate Palmolive are also among the laggards.

Among the Sensex stocks, Bharti Airtel is the top loser, down 2% to Rs 331. BHEL, TCS, Infosys, L&T, ITC, HUL, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra and NTPC are among the top losers.

On the other hand, Jindal Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India and Tata Power are amongst the notable gainers.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices, The BSE mid-cap index is down 6 points at 6,185 and the small-cap index is up 17 points at 6,469.

The overall breadth is neutral as 1,395 stocks are declining while 1,264 are advancing.