Markets end lower dragged by banks

Markets ended lower on Wednesday dragged by banks on worries that their mark-to-market losses on government securities would increase after benchmark yields surged as the government announced major part of its borrowing programme in the first six months of the next fiscal.

The government will borrow Rs 3.7 lakh crore from the market in the first half of 2012-13 through the sale of dated securities. This amounts to 65% of the borrowing plan for the new financial year starting from next month.

The subdued trades witnessed by the European markets also added to the worries of the Indian markets. The Sensex ended lower by 136 points at at 17,122 and the Nifty ended lower by 48 points at 5,195 levels.

The European markets were trading on a subdued note. DAX was down 22 points at 7,057, FTSE was at 5,856, down 13 points and the DAX was trading marginally higher at 3,469 levels.

The Asian markets ended the day in the red. Hang Seng slipped 161 points a to 20,885, Nikkei dropped 72 points to 10,182 and Shanghai ended lower by 62 points at 2,284 levels.

Back home, Hindalco was the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stock shed 3% to Rs 126. ONGC, Sterlite Industries, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Infosys, BHEL and Jindal Steel were also among the laggards.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, DLF, Cipla and Coal India were among the notable gainers.

Consumer durables, banking and PSU stocks were amongst the worst hit in the trades today. The BSE Consumer Durables index was the top sectoral loser, down 3.3% or 216 points to close at 6,293 levels. Gitanjali Gems and Titan Industries were among the top losers from this space both the stocks closed lower by more than 5% on reports that government will not roll back the higher duty on gold imports. VIP Industriess, TTK Prestige, C Mahendra Exports and Videocon were also among the losers.

Bankex shed nearly 2% or 202 points to shut shop at 11,476 levels. Bank of India, Indusind Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were the top losers from this space.

PSU, realty, oil & gas, power, metal, IT and auto atocks also witnessed selling pressure in trades today. At the same time, FMCG and healthcare pockets witnessed some bit of buying.

Among the individual stocks, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) slipped 5% to Rs 623 on reports that the Chief of Army Staff General V K Singh said he was offered a bribe by Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh on behalf of Tatra and Vetra, suppliers of the vehicles to the company.

Shares of Vijay Mallya promoted UB Group companies such as United Spirits, United Breweries Limited (UBL), United Breweries (Holdings) and Kingfisher Airlines were in limelight in trades today, ended 2-7% higher  on reports that Vijay Mallya and Heineken are in final stages of the negotiations and due diligence for UBL stake sale.

NIIT Technologies ended higher by 5% to Rs 250 after the company said it has implemented an automated content management and delivery system at Singapore Parliament. However, the information technology company has not disclosed the financial details.

The broader markets also ended in the red. The BSE mid-cap index ended lower by 54 points at 6,191 levels and the small-cap index ended weaker by 71 points at 6,451 levels.