Sensex closes 214 points down on cautious trade (Roundup)

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday closed 213.68 points, or 0.78 percent, down as investors exercised caution ahead of US Federal Reserve's meeting conclusion later in the day.

The 30-scrip Sensex, which opened at 27,131.71 points, closed at 27,039.76 points after touching a high of 27,163.98 points and a low of 26,919.96 points during the day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in the negative territory -- 61.70 points or 0.75 percent down at 8,171.20 points."

"The markets today slipped as the investors were seen reducing their positions ahead of the October F&O (futures and options) expiry. Also the Federal Reserve's meeting which may unfold the US central bank's decision on its interest rate kept the markets under pressure," Alex Mathews, head - research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services said.

"Indices continue to extend losses on the third day in a row as global cues are not supportive," Gaurav Jain, director, Hem Securities said.

Foreign funds were net sellers of shares worth $10.87 million.

In Wednesday's trade, good buying was observed in consumer durables sector, while selling pressure was seen in banking, power and realty sectors.

On the BSE, consumer durables index gained by 1.63 percent, while bankex plunged by 2.53 percent, power index dropped by 1.48 percent and realty index slipped by 1.24 percent.

The 100-scrip and 200-scrip indices were down by 0.70 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively. Mid-cap index ended lower by around 0.55 percent and small-cap stocks fell 0.01 percent.

The Sensex gainers were: Cipla, up 1.64 percent at Rs.695.55; Bharti Airtel, up 1.62 percent at Rs.358; ONGC, up 1.41 percent at Rs.251.60; and Tata Motors, up 0.74 percent at Rs.386.

The losers included: Axis Bank, down 7.36 percent at Rs.482.95; ICICI Bank, down 4.30 percent at Rs.271.50; State Bank of India, down 2.67 percent at Rs.242; and NTPC, down 2.19 percent at Rs.129.55.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was higher by 0.67 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index was lower by 1.72 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down by 0.80 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was up by 0.40 percent, France's CAC 40 was higher by 0.44 percent and Germany's DAX Index was up by 0.73 percent at the closing in the Indian markets.