The markets saw profit-booking around the psychological levels of 20k. The Sensex shed nearly 300 points from the day's high to end below the 20k mark at 19956, weaker by 148 points, and the Nifty ended at 5991, down 39 points. The midcap index ended at 8103, lower by 54 points and the smallcap index ended at 10234, down 49 points.
The trading pattern during the day resembled the previous day's proceedings to an extent. The bourses had a steady opening, only to lose their way mid-way into the session. But while a smart recovery in the late-noon session gave the indices a respectable, albeit flat close, on Tuesday, the markets were in no mood for a repeat performance and ended near the lows of the day. And the volumes were on the higher side, given the impending F&O expiry.
A soft Europe weighed on the sentiment back home. Most European stocks surrendered early gains, with shares of the Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz falling sharply, after the company's third-quarter earnings disappointed investors. The key benchmark indices in the UK, France and Germany were down upto half a percent each in mid-day trades. And the nervousness was further exaceberated as the September derivatives series expires on Thursday.
There was encouraging news elsewhere though. Wall Street edged higher overnight as corporate deal news and earnings expectations continued to fuel investor optimism. The Dow gained 32 points, or 0.30% to 10,844. And Asian markets hit two-year highs after poor US data reinforced expectations the US Federal Reserve will take more action to help the struggling US economy. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea between 0.33% and 1.22%.
Sterlite Industries weakened by 8.5% at Rs 161 to emerge as the top loser on the BSE after the Madras HC ordered the closure of its copper smelter. ITC shed 2.6% at Rs 173 and Bharti Airtel lost 2.5% at Rs 363. The stocks to buck the trend included Tata Motors (strengthened by 2.5% at Rs 1106), Infosys (gained 0.4% at Rs 3029) and Hero Honda (added 0.3% at Rs 1861).
In the mid-cap index, Sirgun Holdings was the top loser, down 4.9%, followed by Shriram City Union Finance, down 4.1% and IVRCL Infra, down 3.9%. On the other hand, Karnataka Bank and Alstom projects, up 4%, Ispat Industries, up 2.2% and Novartis India, up 2.8% were the few prominent gainers in this space. In the small-cap index, Koutons Retail was the top loser, down 20%, followed by Murli Industries and Man Industries down 12% and 8% each. The smallcap gainers were TTK Prestige, up 16%, TTK Healthcare, up 12.8%, Garden Silk and Hawkins Cooker up 11.1% and 10.3% each.
The market breadth was extremely negative, as 1837 stocks declined and 1161 stocks advanced.
