Sensex loses back to back, down 44 points

Markets continued to lie low for the second consecutive session as the benchmark BSE Sensex tripped by about 44 points to close at 25,775.74 as players churned positions amid a mixed trend in Asia and weakness in Europe.

There was caution all around as investors braced for the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts, coming up on Thursday, which had a bearing on sentiment.

Markets are shut tomorrow on account of 'Guru Nanak Jayanthi'.

The 30-share BSE Sensex, after a weak start, recovered briefly, mostly due to buying in realty, oil and gas, and PSU stocks, and closed down 43.60 points, or 0.17 %, at 25,775.74.

The 50-share NSE Nifty ended lower by 17.65 points, or 0.22 %, at 7,831.60. During the session, it shuttled between 7,812.65 and 7,870.35.

"Indices traded sluggish throughout the day due to lack of any major cues. Investors seem to stay light on the positions on the penultimate day of the November derivative contracts and ahead of the start of the Winter Session of Parliament," said Gaurav Jain, Director, Hem Securities.

The Sensex has lost 92.75 points in two straight sessions.

Sentiment, which was already subdued on disappointing quarterly earnings, took another hit from the off-loading of bets. Brokers said the roll-overs to the next month's expiry would come in below the recent month's expiries.

Sustained foreign capital outflows added to the jitters, they said.

Maruti Suzuki (down 2.05 %) tanked the most while L&T fell 1.94 %. Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Wipro too registered losses.

Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Ltd, RIL and Lupin ended higher, which limited the downside in the key indices.

Sector-wise, the BSE capital goods index suffered the most falling 1.20 %, followed by auto and IT.

The broader markets were better off as the BSE small cap ended 0.33 % higher and the mid-cap gained 0.08 %.

Shares of Reliance Communication soared 9.29 % to Rs 71.15 on buzz of positive corporate reports.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 35.37 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

A mixed trend prevailed in Asia as industrial metals were down in the dumps. European shares fell to a one-week low.