Sensex dips for 3rd day, slips 59 pts; Ambuja Cement falls 6%, HDFC up 1%

The volatile streak in the markets extended into a third straight day on Friday as investors continued to be on edge about the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended an extremely choppy day 54 points, or 0.1 per cent, lower at 57,833 levels, while the Nifty50 shut shop at 17,276, down 28 points or 0.16 per cent.

Reliance Industries, Infosys, Ultratech Cement, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, and M&M were the major drags on the Sensex today, accounting for most of the losses. This downside was capped by gains in HDFC twins, L&T, TCS, and Axis Bank.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices shed 0.8 per cent each with individual stocks, including Gland Pharma, Honeywell Automation, Astral Ltd, Hindustan Media Ventures, Asian Energy Services, and Unichem Labs cracking between 4 per cent and 8 per cent.

On the sectoral front, key indices ended in the negative zone led by the Nifty Realty index (down 1.2 per cent) and the Nifty Pharma index (down 0.8 per cent). On the upside, the Nifty Bank and Financial Serbices indices managed to close 0.2 per cent higher each.

Global markets

European markets were muted on Friday, with global sentiment hanging in the balance as the Ukraine-Russia crisis reaches a pivotal moment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered just above the flatline in early trade, with food and beverage stocks adding 0.8 per cent while travel and leisure stocks fell 0.8 per cent.

Futures linked to main US stock indices were up in the range of 0.3 per cent to 0.6 per cent.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4 per cent, South Korea's Kospi added 0.02 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng skid 1.8 per cent.

4:16 PM

Nifty tech levels | 17,200 may act as support for the falling market: LKP Securities

"On the daily chart of Nifty, an inverted hammer pattern has formed which often indicates a bullish reversal. On the lower end, 17,200 may act as support for the falling market. The trend is likely to remain bullish in the days to come as long as 17,200 is held. On the higher end, crucial resistance is placed at 17,500", said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

 

4:08 PM

Market likely to continue volatility in coming days: Geojit Financial Services

"Domestic equities struggled for a firm direction in today’s volatile trade as the market opened low taking cues from yesterday’s sell-off in Wall Street following the release of FOMC meeting minutes. Reports that the US Secretary of State agreed to meet the Russian foreign minister in order to ease tension helped the domestic market to wipe-off early losses though sell-off was seen in late hours. As current global cues are forcing global equities to remain unstable, the domestic market is also expected to continue its volatile trend in the coming days," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

 

 

4:05 PM

BSE losers: Dilip Buildcon, Gland Pharma & Shilpa Medicare fall 4-5%

 

4:01 PM

Glenmark Life Sciences, Indigo Paints, Fino Payments hit all time lows

3:56 PM

Buzzing stock: Ambuja Cements dips 6% on weak Q3 results

Ambuja Cements slipped nearly 6 per cent on reporting a weak operational performance for December quarter (Q4) with margin contraction of 651 bps quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), 660 bps year-on-year (YoY) to 15.2 per cent on account of higher fuel prices and flat realisations.

3:53 PM

MidCap winners & losers: Voltas, Varun Beverages, Torrent Pharma up 1-3%

Gland Pharma, Honey Automation, Godrej Industries, Astral, Ramco Cements among top losers, down 3-5%

 

3:49 PM

Broader markets also close in negative; BSE MidCap index down 0.8%

 

3:46 PM

Sectoral losers: Nifty Pharma, Realty indices top losers, Nifty Bank up 0.2%

 

3:41 PM

32 Nifty stocks end in red; ONGC, Cipla, Divi's Labs top drags

 

3:38 PM

Sensex Heatmap: Ultratech Cement, M&M, Infosys top losers, slide 1-2%

3:36 PM

Closing Bell: Benchmarks end lower for third day; Nifty sheds 28 points

3:33 PM

Closing Bell: Sensex ends with marginal loss of 59 points

 

3:20 PM

Market check : Sensex heading for lower closing for third day

3:16 PM

Global markets update: US stocks futures edge higher

US stock futures edged higher in overnight trading Thursday. 

Source: yahoo.com

3:04 PM

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