Markets end down amid weak global cues

Maruti Suzuki, Jindal Steel and SBI among the top Sensex losers

Markets ended Thursday's volatile trading session marginally lower, amid weak cues from Europe, with software major Infosys along with auto and bank shares leading the decline. The Sensex closed at 16,420 down 60 points and the Nifty slipped 9 points to close at 4,966. The markets opened higher in trades today as there was some recovery in the rupee but the momentum was short lived and slipped into the red tracking subdued global cues.

The European markets were trading in the negative zone. CAC 40 index was down 42 points at 3,076, DAX was down 5 points at 6,470 and the FTSE was down 27 points at 5,502 levels.

In Asia also the markets ended on a weak note. The Hang Seng slipped 103 points to close at 20,227, Nikkei slipped 35 points to 9,009 levels while the Shanghai closed on a flat note.

Back home, Maruti Suzuki was the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 3.2% at Rs 1,260. Jindal Steel, State Bank of India, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, ITC and Tata Power. At the same time, DLF, BHEL, ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla, HDFC Bank and TCS were among the gainers.

Metal and auto stocks faced selling pressure in the trades today. The BSE metal index was the top loser on the sectoral front, down 110 points at 10,221. Jindal Steel, Coal India, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, Sesa Goa, SAIL and Tata Steel were the top losers from this space.

The auto index ended at 9,721, down nearly 1%. Power, capital goods, healthcare, PSU, FMCG and realty indices were also ended the day with some losses.

On the other hand, oil & gas,consumer durables, bankex and IT indices showed some strength in trades today to close with some gains. the BSE oil & gas index was the top sectoral gainer, up 0.6% or 47 points to shut shop at 7,585 levels. Cairn India, BPCL, Oil India, Gujarat State Petronet, ONGC and Petronet LNG were the gainers from this space.

Among the individual stocks, Apollo Tyres slipped 3.3% to Rs 82, declining over 8% from intra-day high level after reporting 18% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in net profit at Rs 157 crore for the quarter ended March 2012, due to higher raw material and staff cost.

AGC Networks hit upper circuit of 20% at Rs 235 on reporting over three-fold jump in net profit at Rs 23.96 crore the quarter ended March 2012, compared to Rs 7.53 crore in a year ago quarter. Net sales grew 57% at Rs 302 crore on year-on-year basis.

Atul Auto rallied as much as 12% to Rs 153 in opening trades after the company said its board will consider bonus issue and dividend for its equity shareholders.

The broader markets also ended on a listless note. The BSE mid-cap cap index ended at 5,998, up 4 points and the small-cap index ended lower by 16 points at 6,454 levels.

The overall breadth was negative as 1,525 stocks declined while 1,237 stocks advanced.