Sensex closes in red; oil stocks fall (Roundup)

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed Wednesday's trade down 106.38 points or 0.40 percent as oil and gas stocks dipped.

Heavy selling pressure was seen in oil and gas, auto and capital goods, banks and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors, while healthy buying was observed in healthcare , information technology (IT), power, realty and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) scrip.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 26,496.29 points, ended trade at 26,314.29 points, down 106.38 points or 0.40 percent from the previous day's close at 26,420.67 points.

The Sensex has touched a high of 26,504.52 points and a low of 26,277.61 points in the intra-trade.

The S&P BSE oil and gas index dropped by 147.92 points, auto index fell by 94.75 points, capital goods went down by 76.06 points, bank index was lower by 51.94 points and FMCG index lost 50.58 points.

However, healthcare index surged by 373.70 points, IT index was up 22.25 points, power index rose 15.43 points, realty index gained 9.73 points and TECK index increased by 5.28 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too closed in the red. It lost 22.20 points or 0.28 percent at 7,875.30 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Sun Pharma, up 4.64 percent at Rs.847.10; Cipla, up 3.79 percent at Rs.491.90; DrReddys, up 2.25 percent at Rs.2,888; Tata Power, up 1.73 percent at Rs.94.35; and BHEL, up 1.47 percent at Rs.230.60.

The losers were: ONGC, down 2.62 percent at Rs.423.80; Tata Motors, down 1.37 percent at Rs.511.65; Mahindra and Mahindra, down 1.21 percent at Rs.1,357.95; HDFC, down 1.19 percent at Rs.1,072.30; and ITC, down 1.12 percent at Rs.345.

In Asian markets, Nikkei closed 0.03 percent up and Hong Kong's Hang Sang closed 0.15 percent higher. However, China's Shanghai Composite index declined 0.23 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was down by 0.52 percent, Germany's DAX Index was 0.75 percent lower and France's CAC 40 fell by 0.85 percent.