Sensex ends down 98 pts

The Sensex has ended (provisional) at 17,094 - down 98 points. Nifty ended down 27 points at 5,142.
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(Updated at 1437 hrs)

Markets have dropped into the red as corporate earnings continued to idssapoint investors. The Sensex, after opening firm on global cues, has slipped to 17,221 - up just 30 points. Nifty is up 10 points at 5,179.

Asian stocks rose on expectations that a new government in Italy would be able to bring in much-needed reforms and prevent the debt problem from spreading. The Nikkei jumped 1% to 8,603 while Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite surged 2% each.

Headline inflation hovered stubbornly near the double-digit mark in October, rising marginally to 9.73% as prices of food products, fuel and manufactured goods put more pressure on the common man's pocket and major sectors of the economy.

Moreover, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the euro zone crisis is impacting the country's growth and will hurt exports in coming months.

BSE realty index shed 1%, followed by metal and auto shares. Bankex, however, was marginally in the green - at 10,736. Global rating agency Standard & Poor's had upgraded the Indian banking sector last week, saying its domestic regulations are in line with international standards. BSE IT index was up 1% at 5,805.

Bharti Airtel jumped 2.3% to Rs 405. HDFC Bank was up 2.3% while SBI and ICICI Bank languished in red. Sun Pharma added 2.3% to Rs 515 after reporting 19% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in net profit at Rs 598 crore for the second quarter ended September 2011 on the back of higher sales and forex gain. Net sales grew 42% to Rs 1,895 crore on y-o-y basis.

The net profit of Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) decreased marginally by 2.7% during the quarter ended September 2011. Its net profit dipped to Rs 737 crore from Rs 758 crore during the corresponding quarter a year ago. The stock was down 3.8% at Rs 806.

Other losers included Tata Steel and Sterlite from the metal space and Maruti Suzuki in the auto pack.

Sugar manufacturing companies such as Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini, Sakthi Sugars, Simbhaoli Sugars and Upper Ganges Sugar are under pressure on the bourses on reporting disappointing financial results for the quarter ended September 2011, due to volatile global market developments.

Aviation stocks were in the red. Jet Airways slipped as the company slipped back to net loss, compared with a profit a year ago. SpiceJet also reported a loss higher than the Street expectation. However any move by the Government to allow foreign direct investments in aviation could trigger some buying activity. Meanwhile, creditors to Kingfisher Airlines have asked it to raise Rs 800 crore ($160 million) equity and would not consider debt restructuring unless the troubled airline has a credible plan in place, managing director of State Bank of India said on today.