Volatile markets end flat on global cues, realty stocks fall

Stock markets pared early gains today and ended in the red owing to subdued Asian cues.

The Sensex opened in the green and touched a high of 17,591, buoyed by Wipro's results for the third quarter. However, weakness in Asian markets and US index futures dampened investor sentiment. The index shed 166 points from the day’s high to touch an intra-day low of 17,425, but recovered to end at 17,474.49, down 11.57 points. The Nifty ended down 3.95 points at 5,221.70.

Asian markets slumped on worries China will tighten its monetary policy. The Hang Seng dropped 1.81 per cent to 21,286.17. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.93 per cent.

After an extended holiday, US markets ended with gains on Tuesday, led by the healthcare sector. The S&P 500 added 1.25 per cent while the Nasdaq rose 1.42 per cent.

The BSE realty index shed 2 per cent to 3,930. Oil & gas, PSU and FMCG indices were down around 1 per cent each.

“The realty sector displayed weakness today. HDIL disappointed investors and there was selling in the entire real estate space,” said Avinash Gupta, assistant vice-president, research equity, Bonanza Portfolio.

Bharti Airtel was up 3.41 per cent to Rs 331. Auto stocks also rose on good quarterly numbers. Maruti Suzuki advanced 2.62 per cent.

Metal stocks also gained. Tata Steel jumped 2.4 per cent to Rs 654 and Hindalco added 1.7 per cent to Rs 166. However, Sterlite bucked the trend to end 1.79 per cent lower at Rs 853.55.

Jaiprakash Associates and ONGC dropped around 3 per cent. Wipro shed 1.63 per cent after touching a new 52-week high. The company posted a 21.3 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,217.40 crore.

PSU oil marketing companies dropped on news the government is not interested in raising fuel prices in spite of an increase in crude oil prices. BPCL dropped 4.5 per cent, HPCL was down 3.74 per cent and IOC slipped 2.06 per cent.

Jubilant Foodworks' initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 30.68 times. The price band of the IPO, whose bidding closed today, was Rs 135-145.

“The market is expected to consolidate in the range of 5,150 to 5,350,” said Gupta.