Winning streak broken

STOCKS REPORT

Key indices settled flat on Tuesday on profit-taking in cement, automobile and steel stocks at higher levels.

The 30-stock Sensex, which swinged in a wide brand of 158 points, shed 5.48 points to close at 5,791.85, snapping its three-session winning streak.

During intraday trading, the Sensex touched a high of 5,920.76 and a low of 5,762.60 during intra-day trades.

Meanwhile, the broader NSE S&P CNX Nifty also fell 0.80 points to settle at 1,873.25, off the day's high of 1,914.40.

Market breadth remain negative on brisk trades. Of the 1,964 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,388 declined losers and 534 advanced.

The turnover on the BSE jumped to Rs 3,219.55 crore, from Rs 2,297.30 crore on Monday. On the NSE, 41.42 lakh shares worth Rs 6,469.44 crore were traded today, while in the derivatives segment, a record 3,67,275 contracts worth Rs 15,656.07 crore changed hands.

The mantra is to stay invested and exit stocks where you are not comfortable with the fundamentals, because markets are going to be very volatile from here," said Jayesh Shroff, fund manager with BOB Mutual Fund.

ACC stock price fell 3.82 per cent to Rs 241.60 on profit-taking as a leading brokerage house put a 'sell' call on the company. Selling pressure spread across other cement counters too.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements eased down 3.37 per cent to Rs 301.10. Larsen & Toubro shed 1.25 per cent to settle at Rs 532.40.

The stock touched a high of Rs 544 in intraday trades after the company announced that it had secured a contract worth Rs 700 crore for the construction of a 250 mw power plant near Rajahmundry in AP.

Tata Steel, the largest private sector steel maker, slipped from an intraday high of Rs 444.70 to Rs 425.50 before settling at Rs 428.55, down 2.72 per cent from its Monday's close.

Elsewhere, motor bike major Hero Honda Motor eased down 2.11 per cent to Rs 452. Bajaj Auto shed 1.20 per cent to Rs 1,141.70 and Tata Motors slipped down 1.14 per cent to Rs 442.40 on selling pressure.