Sensex declines 18 pts on last day of 2012 trading

After a better start, the Sensex moved between 19,491.08 and 19,406.17, before ending with a moderate loss of 18.13 points to 19,426.71.

The gauge recorded its biggest gain of 26 per cent after 2009 amid government economic reforms measures, including opening foreign direct investment in the retail sector.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shed 3.25 points to 5,905.10.

Brokers said the market remained jittery in the last trading session of the calender year with most foreign institutional investors were off the market for a winter break.

They said the market remained under pressure on a weakening global trend as US lawmakers still struggling to reach a deal on tax-hike threshold and spending cuts.

In 30-BSE index components, 17 stocks gained, while 13 closed with losses. The two most heaviest with their nearly 18 per cent weightage - Reliance Industries and Infosys- ended with moderate losses.

The market received cushion as index-linked Wipro gained 0.79 per cent to Rs 394.35 after it approved to separate the consumer care and lighting businesses to focus on information technology.

The capital goods sector index suffered the most by losing 0.33 per cent to 10,868.11 followed by FMCG index by 0.27 per cent to 5,916.22 as ITC Ltd lost 0.81 per cent to Rs 286.80.