Markets end lower ahead of F&O expiry

The markets ended lower a day ahead of the F&O expiry. The Sensex provisionally ended at 18,144 down 285 points and the 50 share Nifty ended at 5,503 down 104 points.

The European markets opened lower adding to the worries in the Indian markets. CAC index was down 11 points at 3,453, DAX was down 66 points at 6,842 levels and the FTSE was at 5,905, down 22 points.

Back home, on the macro economic front, the PMEAC's estimated rate of growth in 2011-12 at 7.1% is marginally higher than the 6.9% projection made by the Central Statistical Organisation, due to better growth in agriculture and construction.

Meanwhile,  DLF was the top Sensex loser, down 8.5% to Rs 236. SBI, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel were also among the losers.

At the same time, TCS, Sun Pharma, ITC, Infosys, HDFC Bank and ONGC were among the notable gainers.

The selling pressure was visible across the board with realty, consumer durables, metal and banking stock amongst the worst hit.

The BSE Realty index shed nearly 7% or 151 points to close at 2,018 levels. Consumer Durables, metal, bankex and power indices also shed 3.7-5% each.
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(Updated at 1448 hours)

Markets have nose dived in the late noon deals on the back of selling pressure visible across the board and subdued cues from the European markets. The Sensex is down 218 points to 18,210 and the Nifty is down 64 points at 5,543 levels.

According to Somil Mehta, Senior Technical Analyst (Equity) at Sharekhan, "Near term resistance would be 5,650 and 5,700 and support for Nifty would be at 5,560 and 5,510 but if nifty close below 5,510 than the index may see a short term correction till 5,200 levels."

The Asian markets ended higher. The Nikkei advanced 91 points to 9,554 levels, Taiwan advanced 80 points to 8,001. Shanghai advanced 20 points to 2,401 and the Hang Seng added 26 points to 21,504.

The European markets were trading lower. CAC was down 10 points at 3,454, DAX shed 32 points to 6,876 levels and the FTSE was down 9 points at 5,919.

Back home, Sterlite Industries is the top Sensex loser, down 6.5% to Rs 120. State Bank of India and DLF have also shed over 6% each. Bharti Airtel, Jindal Steel, Tata Power, Hindalco, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Gail Indioa, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, and Reliance Industries have also shed 1-5% each.

On the ther hand, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Sun Pharma and ITC
are among notable gainers.

Realty, consumer durables, banking and metal stocks are amongs the  worst hit in trades. The BSE Realty index has shed 5.2% or 112 points to 2,057. Prestige Estates, DB Realty, Anant Raj Industries, DLF, Unitech, HDIL, Oberoi Realty and Godrej Properties are among the top losers from this space.

Consumer Durables index is down 4.2% or 290 points at 6,575 levels. TTK prestige, Titan Industries, C Mahendra Exports, VIP and Blue Star are the top losers from this space.

Metal index is down  3.8% and the Bankex has also shed 3.2% in trades. SAIL, NMDC, JSW Steel, hindustan Zinc, Bhushan Steel and Sesa Goa from the metal pack are the top losers. From the banking space, Bank of India, Union Bank, Canara Bank, bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank are among the top losers.

Power, PSU, auto, capital goods, healthcare, FMCG and oil & gas stocks are also under the selling pressure.

At the same time led by gains in frontline IT stocks the BSE IT index is trading higher.