Markets end flat for second day in a row

Dalal Street ended virtually unchanged for the second day in a row after paring early morning gains. The Sensex added 16 points to close at 17,186 and the Nifty ended eight points up at 5,132. The BSE mid-cap ended 25 points higher at 6,613 and the small-cap strengthened by 71 points to 7,822.

The markets opened firm and traded steady in the first couple of hours on the back of positive Asian cues and the Union Cabinet’s plan to clear the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill. Selling pressure in the afternoon dragged the index by 233 points from the day’s high. The bourses finally closed around the previous day’s levels.

Food inflation soared to 17.47 per cent from 15.58 per cent a week ago. Primary articles rose to 12.53 per cent, as compared to 11.04 per cent last week. On a year-on-year basis, the prices of onions surged 30.89 per cent, and rice and wheat rose over 10 per cent.

Metal stocks rose on the back of strength on the London Metal Exchange. Hindalco touched a 52-week high to close 2 per cent higher at Rs 146. Tata Steel advanced 1.3 per cent to Rs 583 and Sterlite moved up 1.3 per cent to Rs 889. Among the cement pack, Grasim and ACC added 2 per cent each to Rs 2,436 and Rs 815, respectively, on rising cement prices.

Bharati Shipyard and ABG Shipyard’s open offer for Great Offshore opened today and will end on December 22. Great Offshore closed flat at Rs 513. Bharati Shipyard rose 17 per cent to Rs 207 and ABG Shipyard strengthened 3 per cent to Rs 213.

Tata Motors snapped its 2-day rally to close 3.5 per cent down at Rs 705, weighed down by the possibility of cancellations in Nano orders. ICICI Bank closed down 1 per cent at Rs 883, while Hindustan Unilever slipped 2 per cent to Rs 270.

The market breadth was strong. Out of the 2,840 stocks traded on BSE, there were 1,653 advancing stocks as against 1,114 declines.

Gajendra Nagpal, Founder & CEO of Unicon Investment Solutions, said, “The markets may rest momentarily for technical and valuation reasons. But the upmove should continue, given the under-ownership of equities, absence of exuberance and the fact that we are hovering around 18-month highs.”