Markets end lower on weak IIP data

Markets ended lower on Friday, amid weak European cues, after lower-than-expected industrial production for December 2011 with  index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys and banks leading the decline.

The Sensex ended at 17,721, down 109 points and the 50 share Nifty ended lower by 40 points at 5,372.

Industrial production grew by just 1.8% year-on-year in December 2011 due to contraction in mining and capital goods sectors and a lower manufacturing sector growth.

Factory output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), was at 8.1% in December 2010.

Output of the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75% of the index, rose at a lower rate of 1.8% in December, compared to a growth of 8.7% in the same month of 2010,  according to the official data released today.

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(Updated at 2.38 PM)

Markets are trading near their day’s low, amid weak European cues, weighed by profit taking in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys.

At 14:30 hrs, the Sensex was down 110 points at 17,721 and the 50-share Nifty declined 41 points at 5,371. Sensex and Nifty have touched the intraday low of 17,627 levels and 5341 mark, respectively.

On the global front, Asian markets ended weak barring Shanghai Composite. European shares are down as concerns over Greek debt default persisted after finance ministers of the euro zone set more conditions for Greece to secure a second bailout following a deal by Greek leaders on reforms. CAC, DAX and FTSE are down between 0.5-1%.

Back home, all the sectoral indices are trading in negative zone.

Index heavyweights like Infosys and RIL have slumped between 1-2%.

From the banking space, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank have fallen between 1-2%.

Auto shares like Maruti Suzuki, M&M and Hero MotoCorp have plunged between 1-2%.

Among Metal segment, Hindalco is down 1%. The company will issue up to 150 million preferential warrants to the promoters and raise 2,000 crore. Sterlite is down by almost 1%. Sterlite, Coal India and Jindal Steel have declined between 1-4%.

From the Capital Goods space, L&T and BHEL have slipped by over 1% each.

The broader markets are also trading marginally lower.

The overall market breadth is weak as 1,302 stocks are declining while 1,532 are advancing.