Markets end lower dragged by banks

RIL, ICICI Bank, SBI among top Sensex losers

Benchmark share indices extended losses to end over 1% lower on Friday, amid weak global cues, dragged by index heavyweights Reliance Industries and bank shares.

Asian markets ended on a weak note while European shares opened lower on concerns that solutions to the US 'fiscal cliff' could possibly take longer-than-expected.

The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended down 217 points or  1.1% at 19,237 and the 50-share Nifty ended 71 points lower  or 1.2%  at  5,846.

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(Updated at 14:20hrs)

Benchmark share indices continue to reel under selling pressure weighed down by weak global cues and with index heavyweights Reliance Industries, auto and metal shares leading the fall.

By 1420, the Sensex which has touched an intra-day low of 19,284 is down 136 points at 19,318 while the Nifty which has touched an intra-day low of 5,859 is lower by 48 points at 5,868.

On the global front, Asian shares slid on Friday after a Republican proposal to deal with a US fiscal crunch failed to get enough support, deepening uncertainty over the US can avert the "fiscal cliff" of automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to start January 1. Nikkei, Hang Seng, Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai Composite have declined by 1% each.

European markets too have opened weak with CAC, DAX and FTSE have fallen between 0.3-1%.

Back home, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India jumped 67% in October to $1.94 billion, a government statement said on Friday, but inflows for the current financial year were still down.

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty index has plummeted by over 2% followed by counters like Healthcare, Auto, Power, Consumer Durable, Oil & Gas, Metal, PSU, Capital Goods and Banks, all falling down by 1% each.

From the Realty space, Prestige Estates, DLF, HDIL and Prestige Estates have fallen between 2-4%.

According to Salil Sharma, Technical Analyst, Partner, kapursharma.com, “HDIL is weakening. The stock can head lower and is a relative under performer among these stocks. If it closes above Rs 114 then only it can be bought.  DLF has not done well compared to other real estate stocks. It is likely to do well going ahead one can buy this stock with stop loss at Rs 220 and target of Rs 241 (Duration 2 weeks)”.

Index heavyweight Reliance Inds have plunged over 1%. ONGC has slipped by 1.5%.

Auto shares like Tata Motors, M&M and Bajaj Auto have declined between 1-2%.

Among metal shares, Sterlite is the top Sensex loser, down over 2%. JSPL and Hindalco have slipped between 1-2%.

Other prominent losers include Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, BHEL, Tata Power and CIL.

The broader markets have underperformed the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are down over 1%.

The overall breadth in BSE remains dismal as 1,813 stocks are declining while 932 are advancing.