Sensex holds 25,600 amid choppy trade

Capital goods shares were amog the top losers while pharma shares firmed up in late trades

Benchmark share indices came off their early highs to end flat as investors turned cautious ahead of the July IIP data to be released later today and consumer price inflation data for August on Monday in addition to the US Fed's stance on key interest rates next week.

The 30-share Sensex ended down 12 points at 25,610 after touching a high/low of 25,876/25,530 and the Nifty ended up 1 point at 7,789 after hitting a high/low of 7,865/7,834.

In the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap ended up 0.2% while the Small-cap index gained 0.6%. Market breadth ended strong with 1,468 gainers and 1,115 losers on the BSE.

"Markets are expected to remain choppy till the US Fed meet next week. We expect the volatility to continue and would wait for a clear direction post the event. Further, we would also take a call post the key economic data," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, Managing Director, Ambit Investment Advisors.

Further, foreign funds continue to book profits in domestic equities after they remained net sellers in equities worth Rs 121 crore on Thursday.

RUPEE

The rupee remained volatile and is trading marginally lower by 9 paise at 66.52 against the US dollar compared to the previous close.


GLOBAL MARKETS

Most Asian markets ended lower on Friday with Shanghai Composite up 0.1% while Singapore shares declined the most with benchmark Straits Times down 1.4% while Nikkei and Hang Seng ended down 0.2-0.3% each.

European shares were trading lower as investors turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Meet next week. CAC, DAX and FTSE were down 0.1-0.7% each.


SECTORS & STOCKS

The BSE Power index was the top loser down 1.8% followed by Metal, Capital Goods and Auto indices. BSE Realty, FMCG and IT indices were the top losers.

Infosys ended up 1%. The IT majoar announced that it will increase the stipends of interns during the internship instead of increasing entrant salaries.

Private banks such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank ended lower on profit taking after recent gains contributing the most to the Sensex decline along with capital goods shares. Meanwhile, mortgage lender HDFC gained 0.9%.

Capital Goods majors, BHEL and L&T ended down 0.9-2.2% each ahead of the July IIP data due today.

Tata Motors ended down 2.5%. The company’s sales of commercial vehicles in August declined by 2.79% to 29,683 units from 30,536 units in the previous year. However, Tata Motors reported a 1.51% increase in its global sales, including that of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles, to 74,639 units last month.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL ended mixed ahead of the consumer price inflation data scheduled to be released on Monday.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries slipped 0.7% while Vedanta and GAIL ended over 2% lower.

Pharma shares ended firm with Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla ended up 0.6-1% each.

Among other shares,  Amtek Auto zoomed 54% after the auto parts & equipment maker announced the allotment of equity shares worth of Rs 75 crore to the promoters of the company on preferential basis.

Automotive Axles dipped 6% to Rs 641 on the BSE after a huge block deal executed on the counter. Around 270,000 equity shares representing 1.8% of total equity of Automotive Axles have changed hands, BSE data showed

Elder Pharmaceuticals ended up 20% on the BSE on back of heavy volumes in early morning trade on media reports that the company may sell its assets to clear debt.

Shares of aviation companies such as Jet Airways and SpiceJet ended higher after competitor IndiGo, which is awaiting approval for its initial public offer (IPO), reported a net profit of Rs 1,304 crore for 2014-15, mainly on account of low fuel costs, passenger growth and better yields.

Shares of Mahindra Lifespace Developers ended nearly 2% higher after the realty firm inked a pact to set up an industrial park near Chennai in collaboration with Japan's Sumitomo Corporation for an amount of Rs 400 crore.