Markets end lower amid volatile trading session

Markets have closed lower amid volatile trades, breaking 2 day winning streak weighed down by select auto and financial shares.

Provisionally, the 30-share Sensex ended lower by 42 points at 27,646 and the 50-share Nifty dipped 8 points at 8,366.

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Uodated at 14:35

The benchmark indices are virtually unchanged this afternoon, amid a volatile trading session, as they seek to digest the gains of the previous session.

At 2.35 pm, the Sensex has lost 31 points at 27,655 and the Nifty is quoting at 8,362, down 11 points.  

In the broader markets, the Midcap and Smallcap indices are also trading flat at 10,650 and 11,174 respectively.

The Sensex had soared by 363 points or 1.3% at 27,687 and the Nifty had zoomed by 111 points to settle above the crucial 8,350 mark at 8,373 in the previous session. And the BSE benchmark has swung in a range of around 300 points between an intra-day high of 27,872 and a low of 27,577 thus far. In fact, the Nifty had reclaimed the 8400 mark to touch a high of 8427 early this afternoon before coming off its highs as the market participants seek the way ahead after two successive days of upmove.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Vedanta, Hero Motocorp and Dr Reddy's are the top gainers on the BSE, while HDFC, ONGC and Tata Motors are trading weak.

The IT sector is having a good session of trade, with Infosys and Wipro gaining around 1% each.

On the other hand, the rate-sensitives are seeing some profit-booking after their recent gains.

In the auto space, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and M&M have edged lower by about half a percent each.

In the banking space, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI have shed about half a percent each.

The market is marginally positive. Out of 2,742 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,356 advancing stocks as against 1,239 declines.