Sensex, Nifty close lower amid volatility (Roundup)

On a day of wide fluctuations, a benchmark index for Indian equities, the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange, closed 155.11 points, or 0.56 percent, down on Thursday, as foreign funds awaited clarity on the government's stand on capital gains tax, as also due to global concerns.

The 30-share Sensex, which opened at 27,977.27 points, closed at 27,735.02 points, down 155.11 points, or 0.56 percent, over the previous day's close at 27,890.13 points.

The 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also closed 31.40 points, or 0.37 percent, down at 8,398.30 points.

"Foreign funds' concerns still remain as they continue to be net sellers even after the government's clarification on the minimum alternate tax (MAT) issues," said Vinod Nair, head of fundamental research with Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

"Market, in the meantime, have, therefore, consolidated to its previous-month support levels of 8,350 points to 8,400. Going forward, budget session will gain significance as Rajya Sabha has started today (Thursday) and Goods and Services Tax bill is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha in the coming days."

Data with the National Securities Depository Ltd on investments by foreign funds corroborated the trend. In the equities market, they were net sellers to the tune of nearly $135 million in the secondary equities market.

Trading on Thursday saw an intra-day movement of around 465 points in the Sensex between the day's high of 28,087.78 points and a low of 27,621.18 points, before settling at 27,691.03 points, during which time the key index floated both in the positive and negative territory.

It was also evident that the losses were more pronounced in the group of 30 shares that form the Sensex. The 100-scrip and 200-scrip indices were down with a relatively smaller margin of 0.33 percent and 0.29 percent, respectively, even as mid-cap index was up by around 0.58 percent.

Among the 12 sector-specific indices, only three managed to log gains of between 0.04 percent and 1.56 percent, while those that ended in the red ranged, in terms of losses, from 0.03 percent and 0.86 percent, data with the exchange showed.

Overall, among the 2,906 scrips that traded on Thursday, 1,377 registered some gains, 1,434 declined, while 95 remained unchanged at the previous day's level.

The major Sensex gainers on Thursday were: Tata Steel, up 5 percent at Rs.368.70; Coal India, up 1.45 percent at Rs.384.20; Maruti, up 0.92 percent at Rs.3494.05; and BHEL, up 0.91 percent at Rs.233.10.

The losers were: Sun Pharma, down 2.55 percent at Rs.942.45; State Bank of India, down 2.41 percent at Rs.277.25; Tata Motors, down 2.24 percent at Rs.511.60; and NTPC, down 2.10 percent at Rs.149.45.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei went up by 0.27 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index gained by 0.37 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down by 0.38 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was up by 0.08 percent, while France's CAC 40 was lower by 0.77 percent and Germany's DAX Index fell by 1.12 percent at the closing in the Indian markets.