Market turns cautious ahead of earnings; Nifty down 39 points

A day after the key index vaulted by 70 points, trading began on a subdued note in line with a weak trend in Asian markets as well as modest selling in some heavyweights.

The overall global sentiment turned bearish after profit warnings from US corporates along side deteriorating growth scenario at the international level.

The index remained under selling pressure throughout the session, but fall was limited due to some buying in technology counters ahead of tomorrow's quarterly earnings from top software exporters Infosys and TCS.

The range-bound market hit the day's lowest level in afternoon trade following weak European opening, but it still managed to close above the important 5,300 mark.

Stock-specific actions were seen in second line counters like MCX and Financial Technologies, promoters of MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) after the MCX-SX received approval from the SEBI to start trading in equities. FMCG stocks saw heavy sell-off followed by oil & energy, auto, bank and metal.

The 50-share Nifty oscillated between a high of 5,336.45 and a low of 5300.25 before finishing at 5,306.30, a loss of 39.05 points, or 0.73 per cent, over the last close.

Hindalco, Reliance Infra, Tata Motors, Wipro, Siemens, DLF, Sterlite Industries, RIL, Bharti Airtel and JP Associates were the top percentage wise losers from the Nifty pack.

However, Kotak Bank, BPCL, Power Grid, Bank of Baroda, NTPC and Ambuja Cement ended with gains.

The turnover in cash segment spiked to Rs 10,105.15 crore against Rs 9,513.91 crore yesterday. In all, 6,571.36 lakh shares changed hands in 57,73,260 trades. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 60,82,464 crore.