Sensex ends down 87 pts

Auto, realty lead gains

The Sensex ends (provisional) at 19,655 - down 87 points. Nifty ends down 30 points at 5,972.
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(Updated at 1430 hrs)

Markets were volatile in late noon deals with the Sensex paring gains to slip into the red. However, after touching a low of  19,722, the index recovered to 19,752 - up 9 points from the previous close. The Nifty was down 8 points at 5,993.

The broader markets have outperformed the benchmark indices as investors booked profits in large caps and bought select mid-cap and small-cap shares. BSE mid-cap was up 0.3% at 7,359. Small-cap index was up half a per cent at 7,668.

In Asia, markets went up as earnings season got off to a positive start in the US, with US aluminum major Alcoa Inc.'s Q4 December 2012 sales surpassing market expectations. Meanwhile, Global ratings agency Fitch has warned that China's "investment-driven growth model" faces increasingly serious constraints due to heavy debt financing by local governments. Nikkei added 71 points to 10,578.Hang Seng, Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted also moved up 0.5% each.

Domestic car sales fell by 12.51% to 141,083 units in December last year compared to 161,247 units in the same month in 2011. According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) today, motorcycle sales last month went up by 4.83% to 844,113 units from 805,198 units in December, 2011. BSE auto index jumped 1.4% at 11,805.

Realty index gained on renewed buying interest. Healthcare, Oil & gas, PSU and bankex also went up around half a per cent each.

Buying was witnessed in index heavy-weights such as Reliance Industries along with Tata Motors after Credit Suisse and CLSA upgraded their ratings on the car-maker. Reliance added 0.8% at Rs 857. Tata Motors was the biggest gainer among Sensex stocks- up 4.5% at Rs 329. Together they contributed 46 points to the Sensex's upmove.

Coal India was up 2% at Rs 367 on reports that the government has invited expression of interest to undertake restructuring.

Bharti Airtel was up 1.6% at Rs 336. Local brokerage L-K-P has a 'buy' call on the stock with a price target of Rs 380. "We have turned positive on the telecom sector, within which we believe that Bharti will be the key beneficiary of the regulatory softening and benign competitive environment," the brokerage said in a note.