Bulls take a break, Nifty down 9 points in choppy trade

The 50-share index last week zoomed by 253 points, or 4.50 per cent, to scale over 19-month peak, driven by reform optimism and end of deadlock in Parliament.

Trading began on a modest positive note in the absence of any strong buying momentum and action was confined to second line counters. The initial bullishness failed to gain strength as investors booked profit after the recent rally.

The index moved in a fairly narrow range throughout the session before the sell-off accelerated in late afternoon. However, the market managed to trim losses towards the close on some value-based buying.

The market is trying to find its feet after a big rally and retail investors are a bit cautious ahead of the key vote on FDI in Parliament, traders said.

Profit booking was seen in select banking, FMCG and pharma counters, while capital goods, metal, auto and technology attracted good buying interest. Mid and small-cap shares outperformed key indices.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mixed despite positive manufacturing data from China.

The Nifty oscillated between a high of 5,899.15 and a low of 5,854.60 before settling at 5,870.95, showing a modest loss of 8.90 points, or 0.15 per cent, over the last close.

HDFC Bank, IDFC, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, ONGC, HCL-Tech, Grasim, BPCL, NTPC and Lupin were the top Nifty losers. Gainers included ACC, UltraTech, SBIN, Reliance, BHEL, Tata Steel, JP Associates, Siemens, Ambuja Cement and Hindalco.

The turnover in cash segment dropped sharply to Rs 12,010.06 crore from Rs 20,386.61 crore last Friday. Overall, 8,392.5 lakh shares changed hands in 62,49,934 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 66,25,314 crore.