Sensex ends down 33 points

The Sensex ended with a loss of 33 points (provisional) at 17,448. The Nifty was down six points at 5,252.
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(Updated at 1435 hrs)

The markets were trading on a flat note in late afternoon deals. The Sensex was up 59 points at 17,540, and the Nifty was at 5,280, higher by 22 points.

Meanwhile, the European markets have opened higher. CAC 40 index was at 3,115, up 46 points, DAX added 82 points to 5,916 and the FTSE was at 5,449, up 27 points. In a major international news development, reports suggest that the Greek referendum on bailout may be brought forward to December.

The Asian markets ended the day on a mixed note. Shanghai closed at 2,504, higher by 1.4%, Hang Seng advanced 364 points to close at 19,733. However, Nikkei ended the day with losses down 195 points at 8,640 and Taiwan also ended at 7,598, down 24 points.

Back home, Reliance Industries continued to lead the gainers chart among the Sensex stocks, up 2% to Rs 878, Mahindra & Mahindra was up 1.3% at Rs 845. Hindalco, J P Associates, Tata Motors, ONGC, SBI, HDFC Bank, Tata Power, TCS, Bajaj Auto, Jindal Steel and Sun Pharma also added 0.7-1.3% each.

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp continued to remain under the selling pressure, the stock was quoting Rs 2099, down 2%. Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Coal India, Tata Steel, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki and Hindustan Unilever were also trading weaker by 0.2-1.3% each.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group share Reliance Communications (RCOM) has rallied 7% to Rs 82.50 on reports that Reliance Industries (RIL) is likely to use the towers and fibre optic cables of the company to provide high-speed data services.

All the sectoral indices were trading higher. The BSE Oil & Gas index was the top gainer, up 1.4% or 121 points at 9,010. Healthcare, Power, Realty, Auto, Bankex, Metal, consumer Durables and Capital Goods indices were also trading higher by 0.1-0.7% each.

The broader markets were trading on a flat note, the BSE mid-cap index was up 20 points at 6,272 and the small-cap index was up 8 points at 6,945.

The overall breadth was neutral as 1,376 stocks were advancing while 1,336 were declining.