Markets end on a weak note

Sensex ends at 17,486, lower by 111 points Nifty sheds 36 points to close at 5,323

Markets ended Wednesday's trading session on a weak note on the back of widespread selling visible across the board. The negative global cues also added to the selling pressure in trades today.

The Sensex closed at 17,486, lower by 111 points and the 50-share Nifty ended weaker by 36 points at 5,323 levels.

The Asian markets ended the day on a weak note. The Nikkei slipped 230 points to 9,820 levels and Taiwan shed 102 points to close at 7,760 levels. Hang Seng and Shanghai were closed due to holiday.

The European matrkets were also trading on a weak note. CAC was down 42 points at 3,634, DAX shed 126 points to 6,856 and the FTSE was also trading lower by 70 points at 5,768 levels.

Back home, Jindal Steel was the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stock ended lower by 3.15% at Rs 526. Gail India, Bharti Airtel, Sterlite Industries, ICICI Bank, Cipla, DLF, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra, HUL, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Auto were also among the laggards.

On the other hand, BHEL extened its yesterday's rally on reports that the company is planning to diversify into sectors such as oil and gas, transportation and defence to tap new growth avenues, as equipment orders from power projects are declining. The stock ended higher by 3.5% at Rs 273.

Hindalco, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, NTPC and ITC were also among the notable gainers.

Realty, banking and metal stocks were amongst the worst hit in trades today. The BSE Realty index was the top sectoral loser down 1.35% or 25 points at 1,798 levels. Metal and Bankex indices also closed lower by 1% and 0.75% each respectively.

Sobha Developers, Unitech, DB Realty, DLF, Anant Raj Industries, Oberoi Realty and Sunteck Realty were the top losers from the realty space. Among the metal stocks, Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa, JSW Steel, SAIL, Hindustan Zinc and NMDC also ended lower in trades today.

Oil & gas, auto, teck, FMCG, healthcare, IT, capital goods and PSU stocks also witnessed some bit of selling pressure.

While, power and consumer durable pockets witnessed a wee bit of buying. BHEL, Adani Power, GVK Power, Power Grid and Reliance Power were the top gainers from the power pack.

Shares of tyre manufactures such as MRF, Apollo Tyres, Ceat and Falcon Tyres have rallied 3-10% on softening of rubber prices, the main raw materials of tyre companies,  due to higher than expected production.

Essar Oil lipped 5% to Rs 57 on reports that the Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the company’s petition in sales tax case.

Kingfisher Airlines ended higher by 11% at Rs 18.50, extending its 10% rally on reports that the beleaguered carrier's employees withdrew their proposed agitation accepting its promoter Vijay Mallya's assurance for a staggered payment of their salary dues starting today.

The broader markets ended on a subdued note. The BSE mid-cap index ended weaker by 2 points at 6,474 and the small-cap index ended higher by 27 points at 6,845 levels.

The overall breadth was neutral as 1,446 stocks advanced while 1,344 stocks declined.