Sensex snaps two days of losses, ends up 19 points

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained for the first time in three days, adding 19 points after a choppy session today ahead of the expiry of futures and options contracts.
Capital goods, auto and power shares firmed up as metal, PSU, teck and IT stocks declined. HDFC and Larsen and Toubro helped the Sensex to gain, while TCS and Bharti Airtel dragged it lower.
The 30-share index resumed lower at 19,820.03 and dropped to a low of 19,782.78 as bank stocks slumped after Moody's cut the senior unsecured debt and local currency deposit rating of State Bank of India, the country's largest lender.

However, it recovered to 20,050.42 before ending at 19,920.21, a gain of 19.25 points or 0.10 per cent. The index had shed 746 points in the previous two sessions.
The 50-share CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange inched up 2.7 points to 5,892.45. The SX40 index on the MCX Stock Exchange closed at 11851.21, up 30.97 points.
The market mood was choppy with participants churning their portfolios ahead of the expiry of monthly derivative contracts on Thursday, brokers said.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower following a decline in US stocks. Key indices in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea eased while the Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index moved up by 0.08 per cent.

European stock markets were higher in early trade as German business confidence increased for the fifth month in September.