Markets end subdued, RIL, TCS weigh

After having spent all of noon in the negative, the markets made feeble attempts to recover towards the closing deals. However, the bourses witnessed a subdued closing. The BSE Sensex ended at 17,065, down marginally by 34 points and the S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,133, down by seven points. During the day, the BSE benchmark index had touched the day's low of 17,001 and the day's high of 17,191.

The sentiment, across the markets, remained bearish for the day as the European markets traded in the negative terrain.

In Europe, shares fell on Wednesday after strong gains in the previous day, with investors taking some money off the table ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting. The meeting is expected to reveal further steps to stimulate the flagging US economic rocovery. The CAC 40 and DAX have shed a per cent each while the FTSE 100 index has shed 0.3%.

Back home, the broader markets, however, performed comparatively firm with the BSE mid-cap index having ended at 6,477 and the small-cap index having shut at 7,352, up 0.7% each.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE Oil & Gas, Auto and Metal indices lead the losses, having declined 1-2% each. Cairn India, RIL, Gail India and Essar Oil, down 1-2% each, were the major losers among the Oil & Gas stocks.

Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto, down 2-3% each, were the major losers from the Auto space.

BSE Consumer Durables and Bankex index were the top gainers among the indices, having added nearly 1-2% each. Whirlpool, Titan Industries, Gitanjali Gems and Vip Industries, up 2-4% each, were the major gainers from the Consumer Durables' space.

Reliance Industries, TCS and Hero MotoCorp, together, accounted for a loss of around 48 points to the Sensex.

ICICI Bank moved up 2% at Rs 902 and was the top gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks. Other prominent gainers included JP Associates, Coal India, Wipro and SBI, up 1-2% each. Coal India gained during the day on reports that the environment ministry has agreed to discuss coal projects on a case-by-case basis. Meanwhile, it has also announced plans to once again try and interest major firms, here and abroad, into reviving some of its abandoned mines.

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp,Hindalco Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Auto, down 2-3% each, were the top losers from the pack. Maruti Suzuki continued to lose out even as the stand-off between protesting workers and the management at Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s (MSIL's) Manesar facility in Haryana, continues.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,611 stocks advanced against 1,226 declining ones out of 2,964 stocks, on the BSE.