Markets end slightly lower

Key share indices ended slightly lower on Saturday amid lack of investor participation in a special truncated trading session held for upgrade of software by one of the stock exchanges.

Today’s special two hour trading session was conducted for the upgrade of Futures & Options system infrastructure of the National Stock Exchange.

The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended at 15,836 down 31 points and the 50-share Nifty ended at 4,747 down 7 points.
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(Updated at 11:33hrs)

Markets have opened on a flat note in the opening deals on Saturday's special trading session. The Sensex opened at 15,885, up 17 points and the Nifty opened at 4,756, higher by 2 points. 

All the sectoral indices are trading on a subdued note. PSU and capital goods  stocks are witnessing some bit of buying in the opening deals. The BSE PSU index is up 0.6% at 6,715 levels. The Capital Goods index has added 0.4% to 8,583 levels. IT, Realty and Healthcare stocks are also witnessing a wee bit of buying.

At the same time, banking stocks are under a bit of selling pressure. The BSE Bankex is down, 0.2% at 9,716 levels. FMCG, metal, aand oil & gas stocks are also facing a mild selling pressure.

Among the Sensex stocks, DLF is the top gainer, up 1% at Rs 176. Tata Power, L&T, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, Infosys, Sun Pharma, TCS, Coal India, ONGC, State Bank of India and Tata Motors are also among the gainers.

However, J P Associates is the top loser, down 2.45% at Rs 52. Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and HUL are also among the laggards.

The broader markets are also trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index is up 0.3% at 5,276 levels and the small-cap index is up 0.4% at 5,725 levels.

The overall breadth is positive as 700 stocks are advancing while 343 are declining.