Markets ignore further slide in rupee; Nifty erases losses

Shares today staged a spectacular recovery on late buying support, ignoring further slide in the rupee, as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) benchmark, which was down nearly 200 points in intra-day trade, ended flat.
The 50-share Nifty settled at 5,285, down two points over yesterday, in a highly volatile trade, which was initially dominated by the plunging rupee.
The battered currency dived to another lifetime low and ended well above 68 mark against dollar after posting its worst one-day fall on deepening concerns about the current account deficit and capital outflows despite Governments' plan to rescue the floundering economy.
Late on Tuesday, the Finance Minister outlined a 10- point plan to reduce the current account deficit and restore confidence in economy and boost growth.

After getting hammered in opening session, the equity benchmark saw a dramatic reversal of sentiments. It trimmed losses and reversed direction in late afternoon on the back of hectic short-covering ahead of tomorrow's F&O expiry and domestic institutional buying support.
The key index briefly traded in positive zone before slipping back in red and ending largely unchanged.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions against the backdrop of escalating worries over a potential US-led military action in warn-torn Syria continued to weigh heavily on other Asian and emerging markets, where equities plunging to fresh lows.
Financial, FMCG and energy stocks remained under intense selling pressure. Amid plummeting rupee, technology stocks attracted good buying interest followed by healthcare, metal and auto sectors.

BPCL, PNB, UltraTech, ONGC, Axis Bank, HDFC, Asian Paints, GAIL, Power Grid and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers from the index bunch. Notable gainers included Ranbaxy, Cairn, Tata Power, JP Associates, HCL-Tech, TCS, Jindal Steel, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and NMDC.
Turnover in the cash segment shot up to Rs 15,452.96 crore from Rs 12,077.51 crore yesterday. A total of 7,913.38 lakh shares changed hands in 79,48,848 trades. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 56,76,136 crore.