Markets end lower amid choppy trades

Benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday extending its yesterday’s fall weighed down by select Index heavyweights with ICICI Bank and ITC leading the decline. Also, tumbling oil prices have dampened the sentiments of the markets participants. 

Provisionally, the 30-share Sensex ended 30 points lower at 26,958 and the 50-share Nifty closed 9 points lower at 8,118.
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(updated at 3.10PM)
Benchmark indices have extended losses in the late noon trades as eurozone crises and falling cude oil prices continue to weigh on the market sentiments. 

At 3.10 PM, the 30-share Sensex is down 125 points at 26,863 and the 50-share Nifty is down 38 points at 8,089.

The broader markets are in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are trading flat with a negative bias.

The market breadth in BSE remain weak with 1,466 shares declining and 1,263 shares advancing.

Rupee:

The Indian rupee is trading higher at Rs 63.36 to the US dollar compared to the previous close of Rs 63.57 which fell as foreign investors, jittery over Greece's possible exit from the Euro zone, opted for dollars, considered a safe haven.

Crude Oil:

The price of Brent Crude oil has fallen below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2009. Oil extended losses amid speculation that U.S. inventories will expand, deepening a global supply glut that’s driven prices to a five-year low.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,571 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Sectors & Stocks:

On the sectoral front, BSE Oil & Gas index is the top gainer up over 1%. However, Metal, Bankex and IT indices continue to lose sheen and are down between 0.2-1%.

Hindustan Unilever is up nearly 4%, extending its previous day’s gain on NSE, on reports that a foreign investment bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold and also raised its target price for the stock.

Oil shares rebounded after sharp losses in the previous sessions tracking decline in global crude oil prices. Reliance Industries and ONGC are up between 1-2% each.

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) hiked prices of its vehicles within days of the government's withdrawal of excise duty concessions. The stock is up 1%. However, its peers Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp and are trading lower by 

HDFC twins, NTPC, Bharti Airtel are some of the notable names in green among others and are up between 0.5-2%.

On the flip side, Coal India shares down around 0.5%. The world's top coal miner has fallen short of its output targets for the last six years. Among other metal stocks, Tata Steel and Hindalco are down over 1.6% each.

An appreciating rupee has casted its shadow on the defensive stocks. The technology pack is trading lower. TCS, Infosys and Wipro have lost 0.5% each. However, its peer Infosys is trading higher by 0.3% ahead of the quarterly results due tomorrow.

Among the healthcare space, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Lab are trading down by 0.2% and 0.8% each.

Index heavyweights ICICI Bank and ITC are contributing the most to the decline are down 2.6% and 2% each.  

Global Markets:

Japanese stocks ended flat after a choppy session on Wednesday, with investors waiting with bated breath for key domestic and U.S. economic data on Friday as financial markets continued to fret over sliding oil prices and worries over global growth.

The Nikkei benchmark added 0.01 percent to 16,885.33, only just managing to snap a four-day losing streak.

European stocks opened higher, after Asia just about managed to hold up in positive territory, but nervousness ran deep through all financial markets ahead of euro zone inflation data due later Wednesday.

The euro hit a nine-year trough on Wednesday as collapsing oil prices and worries about the world economy drove skittish investors into the arms of safe-haven sovereign debt.

From Japan to Germany to Australia, government borrowing costs fell to all-time lows as oil fell 10 percent in just two days - Brent crude broke below the psychological $50 barrier - as investors wrestled with the risk of global deflation.