Markets have a sluggish closing

The markets have begun the week on a rather restrained note, possibly on the back of the reversal on the Shanghai bourses and an uneasy opening across Europe. The Sensex ended at 20028, lower by 44 points and the Nifty ended at 5998, down 13 points. There was divergence in the broader market space, though, with the midcap index ending at 7614, lower by 13 points and the smallcap index ending at 9374, up 19 points.

China's key stock index had wiped out an earlier 1.5% gain to end down 1.9% as investors dumped property, financial and energy shares on concerns about their longer-term outlook after a short-lived relief rally in the morning. The other Asian markets had a mixed closing; the Nikkei ended higher by nearly a percent, while the Hang Seng shed about half a percent. China's central bank had raised the interest rates by a 25 basis points on Christmas Day, moving sooner than many analysts and market participants had expected. Moreover, the European markets had an edgy start, with the CAC and DAX slipping by more than a percent each. The London markets are shut till Wednesday on account of the festive season. A surge in crude oil price to a 26-month high near $92 a barrel seemed to have weighed on the sentiment.

On stock specifics, Cipla strengthened by 1.4% at Rs 369 to top the gainers list on the BSE. Tata Power hardened by 0.8% at Rs 1311 and Bajaj Auto was up 0.6% at Rs 1454. Wipro, Bhel and Wipro ICICI Bank were the other major gainers. And the debutant of the day, Ravi Kumar Distilleries soared around 20% at Rs 85. The shares of the Indian-made foreign liquor manufacturer had made a handsome debut on the National Stock Exchange, listing at a premium of over 12% to its issue price.

And sugar stocks had a decent session after the relaunch of sugar futures on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX). Bajaj Hindusthan and Balrampur Chini Mills added anywhere between 1% and 3% each on the bourses. The government had banned sugar futures in May 2009 in an attempt to control the shortages and spiralling prices.

On the other hand, RCom weakened by 3.5% at Rs 136 after Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries denied market talk it was planning to invest in India's No 2 mobile operator. The shares of the Anil Ambani-owned telecom major had spurted by more than 10% on Friday as a result of the rumours. And metal stocks lost some lustre on worries that China's interest rate hike could slow down economic growth in China. Sterlite shed 3% at Rs 179, Tata Steel lost 1.4% at Rs 663 and Hindalco slipped 0.9% at Rs 237. And index heavyweight RIL declined by 0.4% at Rs 1055.

The market breadth was marginally positive. Out of 3017 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1437 advancing stocks as against 1357 declines.