| Trade was volatile due to unwinding of positions ahead of derivatives expiry on Thursday. |
| The combined turnover on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday was Rs 9,900 crore, down 18 per cent from Friday. |
| "Such low trade volume ahead of futures expiry is a bad sign, because it is a strong statement of a lack of investor confidence. Two sessions away from expiry, volumes should be much higher," said a dealer. |
| The Sensex ended at 13124.32, down 161.61 points, or 1.2 per cent from Friday, after touching a low of 13090.80 and high of 13345.73. |
| The NSE Nifty closed at 3819.95, down 41.10 points, or 1.1 per cent. It touched a low of 3768.25 and a high of 3885.45. |
| On the BSE, there were 839 advances and 1,737 declines. |
| Oil and Natural Gas rose 1.2 per cent to end at Rs 850, on the back of a block deal in the stock. Among BSE sector indices, only metal and capital goods ended the day in the positive territory. |
| Sugar shares were up on reports that the government will give export incentives worth Rs 1,350-1,450 a tonne to mills. |
| Shree Renuka Sugars was up 8.4 per cent at Rs 429, Bajaj Hindustan was up 4.2 per cent at Rs 175, and EID Parry up 1.3 per cent at Rs 126. |
| Banking shares pared early gains and ended the day as the biggest losers as the BSE Bank Index ended down 2 per cent. |
| The fall was primarily on account of profit booking after a sharp run up, particularly in public sector banks, dealers said. |
| In three weeks to Mar 23, CNX Bankex rose 11.5 per cent versus 5.3 per cent rise in Nifty. Automobile companies' shares fell as sales numbers for March, due on April 2, are seen weak, analysts said. |
| High interest rates have depressed demand, therefore sales numbers are unlikely to match last year figures, they said. |
| "A base effect in the case of some large companies such as Tata Motors will also result in a smaller percentage growth," said Vaishali Jajoo, analyst, Angel Broking. |
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