Market ends lower amid volatile trade

Mumbai:On the day of Railway Budget, the market ended down amid volatile trade.

Losses were seen in FMCG, technology, pharma, and auto stocks. However, banking, capital goods and consumer durables stocks flared up.

The Sensex closed down 43.29 points or 0.42% at 10200.76. It touched an intraday high of 10271.67 and an intraday low of 10177.12.

The Nifty closed down 12.05 points or 0.39% at 3050.05. It touched an intraday high of 3072 and an intraday low of 3041.60.

However, the CNX Midcap Index closed up 39.25 points or 0.91% at 4372. It touched an intraday high of 4377.80 and an intraday low of 4343.20.

The BSE Midcap Index closed up 16.07 points or 0.34% at 4753.47. The BSE Small Cap Index closed down 12.01 points or 0.20% at 6102.

Dr Reddy’s Labs, Sail, Hero Honda, HLL and ONGC were the biggest index losers.

PNB, MTNL, Oriental Bank, SBI, Larsen, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and Tata Power were the biggest index gainers.

The market turnover was weak, about 1054 shares advanced, 1366 shares declined, and 67 shares remained unchanged. The total market turnover today was at Rs 27,862.99 crore (Rs 278.62 billion).

Analysts say that the markets are fairly comfortable at this point of time and the Sensex will touch the 10400 levels before the Union Budget.

The BSE FMCG Index underperformed the other indices. It closed down 1.43% at 1914.65 amid losses in HLL, Shaw Wallace, McDowell, Britannia, ITC and Nestle.

Technology stocks like HCL Info, Satyam, Infosys, MphasiS BFL and HCL Tech also witnessed selling pressure. The BSE IT Index closed down 1.13% at 3647.25.

Pharma stocks like Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, Ranbaxy Labs, Glenmark, Wyeth and Cipla also ended lower. The BSE Healthcare Index closed down 0.98% at 3578.98.

Auto stocks like Hero Honda, Tube Investment, M&M, Bajaj Auto, MICO, MRF and TVS Motor also lost ground. The BSE Auto Index closed down 0.49% at 4898.84.

Select metal stocks also ended in the red. The BSE Metal Index closed down 0.09% at 7144.15.

However, the BSE Bankex outperformed the other indices. It closed up 1.84% at 5102.76 amid gains in Bank of India, Canara Bank, IOB, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Oriental Bank, Allahabad Bank and SBI.

Capital goods stocks like Bharat Electronics, ABB, Larsen, BHEL, Alstom Projects, Siemens and Dredging Corporation also flared up. The BSE Capital Goods Index closed up 0.96% at 7171.70.

Select consumer durables and oil stocks also gained. The BSE Consumer Durables Index closed up 0.44% at 3164.56 and the BSE Oil & Gas Index closed up 0.02% at 4485.33.