Markets end lower on profit booking

Indian stocks markets ended lower on Thursday on the back of profit booking visible in the metal, oil & gas and banking stocks. The BSE benchmark index- Sensex provisionally closed at18,126 down 76 points and the 50-share Nifty shed 16 points to end at 5,515 levels.

In Asia, the markets ended the day in the red. Nikkei ended lower by 22 points at 9,238 levels. Hang Seng shed 88 points to 21,277. Shanghai and Taiwan also shed 0.4% and 1.7% each respectively by the close.

The European markets were also trading lower. The Germany's DAX was at 6,687, down 1%, CAC was down 0.7% at 3,365 levels and FTSE shed 0.6% to 5,857 levels.

Back home, Coal India, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries, Tata Motors and Tata Steel were among the top Nifty losers.
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(Updated at 1436 hours)


Markets continue to trade on a weak note in the late noon deals. The Sensex is down 70 points at 18,133 and the 50-share Nifty has shed 15 points at 5,517 levels.

The European markets are also trading on a weak note. CAC 40 index is down 0.6% or 22 points to 3,367 levels. DAX has shed 93 points to 6,665 levels and the FTSE is down 55 points at 5,836 levels.

In Asia, the markets ended the day in the red. Nikkei ended lower by 22 points at 9,238 levels. Hang Seng shed 88 points to 21,277. Shanghai and Taiwan also shed 0.4% and 1.7% each respectively by the close.
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(Updated at 1320 hours)

Markets continue to trade lower in the noon deals on the back of profit booking visible today after yesterday's upmove. However they have come off the day's low levels on the back of buying in power stocks. The Sensex is down 94 points at 18,108 and the Nifty has shed 32 points to 5,500 levels. Earlier in the day, the Sensex touched the low of 18,043.

According to Ravi Nathani, Technical analyst, Nsetoday.com, "Correction is their on cards, however i am expecting the same only post 23 Feb 2012 (Expiry); Don't expect a deep correction however a level between of 5150-5200 would be the best time to enter good uptrend stocks as markets have changed its trend from bearish to bullish. So best trading strategy for index would be to buy at dips."

The Asian markets also ended the day on a weak note. The Nikkei ended lower 22 points at 9,238 levels. Hang Seng shed 172 points to 21,193 levels. Taiwan and Shanghai also ended lower by 1.7% and 0.4% each.

Back home, Coal India is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 5% to Rs 323. Sterlite Industries is trading lower by 4% to Rs 129. Hindalco, Tata Motors, Gail India, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and TCS are also among the laggards on the Sensex.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries has shed 2.7% to Rs 813 extending its yesterday’s 1.4% fall, on reports that the company anticipated a further fall to 22.6 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd), an all-time low, in 2013-14 from the current 35 mscmd.

However, Jindal Steel, BHEL, Cipla, Tata Power, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, NTPC, ONGC, Bajaj Auto and SBI are trading higher by 1.2-24% each.

Metal, oil & gas, consumer durables, banking and auto stocks are facing selling pressure in trades so far. The BSE Metal index is the top sectoral loser, down 1.6% or 199 points to 12,595 levels. Oil & Gas index has shed 119 points to 8,628. Consumer Durables, Bankex, Auto, PSU and FMCG indices are down 0.1-1% each.

At the same time, Power stocks are witnessing buying in trades today for the second straight session after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday directed Coal India Ltd (CIL) to import coal to ensure supplies for 20 years to 50,000-mw power plants that are proposed to be commissioned by March 2015.

BSE Power index is up 1.3% or 30 points to 2,295 levels. Realty, capital goods, healthcare and IT stocks are also witnessing some bit of buying.

Bhushan Steel, JSW Steel and SAIL are the top losers among the metal stocks.

From the power pack, PTC India is the top gainer, up 4.5% to Rs 64. Adani Power, Lanco Infra, BHEL, Crompton greaves, Thermax, Suzlon Energy and GMR Infra are also among the gainers from this space.

Among the individual stocks, IndusInd Bank is trading lower by 4% at Rs 320 after the MSCI said it will remove the private sector bank from MSCI India Index effective from February 29.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are trading higher by 0.5% and 0.7% each respectively.

The overall market breadth is neutral as 1,390 stocks are advancing while 1,338 stocks are declining.