Markets ended lower ahead of the expiry of May derivative contracts, amid weak global cues, weighed down by selling pressure in Tata Motors because of decline in fourth quarter operating margins.
The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended down 141 points at 16,298 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 39 points at 4,951.
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(Updated at 14:17hrs)
Benchmark share indices continue to trade in negative terrain, amid weak European cues, with auto major Tata Motors declining the most.
By 1420 hrs, the Sensex was down 59 points at 16,379 and the 50-share Nifty declined 23 points at 4,968.
On the global front, Asian markets ended weak on worries that China may not get fresh stimulus spending even as Euro troubles remained in Spain. Hang Seng, Nikkei, Shanghai, Kospi, Taiwan and Strait Times declined between 0.2-2%.
European shares slipped and the euro touched a 23-month low on Wednesday as investors worried that Spain's banking problems would push its borrowing costs to unsustainable levels and after China signaled it is not planning a large stimulus package. CAC, DAX and FTSE have plunged by almost 1% each.
Back home, BSE Auto index has slumped by nearly 4% followed by counters like Banks, Consumer Durable, Realty, Capital Goods, Power and PSU, all declining by almost 1% each. However, BSE Technology index has spurted over 1%.
Tata Motors has extended the losses and has plummeted over 11% after reporting a 30 basis points decline in EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin for Q4FY12 to 14.3%. The market expected a jump of over 100 basis points.
Banking and financial shares like ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC and HDFC Bank have declined between 0.4-1.3%.
Capital Goods majors like BHEL and L&T have plunged between 1-3%.
Other notable losers include DLF, Sterlite, Tata Steel, Hero Moto, Cipla and SAIL.
On the winning side, IT stocks like Infosys, TCS and Wipro have spurted between 1-2%. Other gainers include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Power, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and ITC.
In the broader market, the mid-cap and small-cap indices have also shed nearly 0.7% each.
The market breadth remains weak with 1,527 stocks declining and 1,045 shares advancing.