Sensex ends flat; bank stocks fall (Roundup)

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Friday closed 16.81 points or 0.07 percent lower as bank and consumer durables stocks came under heavy selling pressure.

Healthy buying was observed in healthcare, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), metal, realty and information technology (IT) sectors.

However, buying pressure was seen in bank, consumer durables and oil and gas scrips.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 24,300.99 points, ended the day's trade at 24,217.34 points -- down 16.81 points or 0.07 percent from the previous day's close at 24,234.15 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 24,353.59 points and a low of 24,163.62 points intra-day.

The S&P BSE healthcare index surged 260.26 points, FMCG index gained by 90.79 points, metal rose 53.11 points, realty index increased by 37.12 points and the IT index edged higher by 35.85 points.

However, bank index was down 273.77 points, followed by consumer durables index which fell 139.51 points and oil and gas index which lost 14.87 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended trade 5.70 points or 0.08 percent down at 7,229.95 points.

Major Sensex gainers were: Hindustan Unilever, up 7.87 percent at Rs.600.95; NTPC, up 4.99 percent at Rs.159.85; Mahindra & Mahindra, up 4.43 percent at Rs.1,230.50; Sun Pharma, up 3.37 percent at Rs.607.40; and Cipla, up 3 percent at Rs.384.15.

Major Sensex losers were: State Bank of India (SBI), down 2.24 percent at Rs.2,541.90; HDFC Bank, down 2.03 percent at Rs.794.10; Tata Motors, down 1.97 percent at Rs.415.45; HDFC, down 1.93 percent at Rs.876.60; and Maruti Suzuki, down 1.59 percent at Rs.2,269.50.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.34 percent down, while China's Shanghai Composite Index was lower by 0.07 percent. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.31 percent up.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.17 percent down, Germany's DAX Index was lower by 0.03 percent and the French CAC 40 Index was down by 0.36 percent.