Markets end lower for fifth straight session; Nifty breaks 8,400

Sell off in Sun Pharmaceutical in addition to profit taking in Hindustan Unilever dragged the indices lower

Benchmark share indices ended lower for the fifth straight session with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries leading the decline after Daiichi Sankyo sold its stake today while worries over retrospective tax on profits of foreign portfolio investors also dampened sentiment.

The Sensex ended at at 27,676, lower by 210 points and the Nifty broke the psychological level of 8,400 to end at 8378 down 70 points.

The midcap and smallcap indices had rebounded into the green for a short period, but were unable to sustain their gains and ended upto half a percent lower at 10,506 and 11,332 respectively.

The benchmark indices had a choppy session as they sought direction in wake of four straight sessions of losses and the biggest single-day drop in 3 weeks on Monday. The Sensex oscillated between an intra-day high of 27,976 and a low of 27,598 through the day before ending at the lower end of the range due to selling pressure in late-noon trades.

The market participants would closely watch the proceedings in parliament during the final part of the ongoing Budget session which began on Monday as the government hopes to pass the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Land Acquisition Bill.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The Chinese and Japanese markets have surged as China's step to prop up its faltering economy, on Sunday, by announcing a reduction in the amount of reserves commercial banks are required to hold by one percentage points lifted equities across Asia. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea gained upto 2% each. The Taiwan and Kospi indices, however, bucked the trend to edge marginally lower at close. The European markets, including the FTSE, CAC and DAX, were trading in the green

STOCKS & SECTORS

Most BSE sectoral indices ended in the red, with the exception of the consumer durables and metal indices; the pharma index was the top sectoral loser on the BSE.

Sun Pharmaceuticals plummeted by 8.8% at Rs 951 to top the loser's list on the BSE after Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo sold its 8.9% stake in Sun Pharmaceuticals through multiple block deals on the stock exchanges. Dr Reddys Lab shed 2.8% at Rs 3462.

After TCS and Mindtree, it was HCL Tech's turn to report sharp decline in margins. The stock plunged almost 10% in early morning trade before ending down 3.4% at Rs 891 after reporting a 12% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,683 crore for the third quarter ended March 2015 (Q3FY15). The company had reported a profit of Rs 1,915 crore in December 2014 quarter. IT major Wipro is down 0.8% at Rs 570 ahead of its Q4 results today.

DLF slipped by 4.8% to Rs 139, its lowest level since January 16 this year on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). According to media reports, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has moved the Supreme Court, challenging a tribunal order in the matter of disclosure norm violations by real estate major DLF. The regulator filed its appeal last week and has sought an early hearing, according to two people in the know, Business Standard report suggests.

The pharma index shed more than 2% due to the 8% fall in Sun Pharma and cuts of around 1% in Torrent Pharma, Glenmark Pharma and Dr Reddy's.

The FMCG shares continued their weak trend from the previous day due to softening rural consumption and the likelihood of weak corporate earnings in the March quarter. HUL's 5% fall was accompanied by a 2-5% decline in Godrej and Britania Industries. ITC, however, ended flat, with a negative bias, at Rs 341. The FMCG index had lost around three per cent on Monday.

On the other hand, the metal stocks were in favour in a weak market. Sesa Sterlite gained 1.5% at Rs 211 and Tata Steel added 1% at Rs 348.