Sensex loses 104.20 pts at close; IT bucks trend

Indian equities ended the day on a weak note. The 30-share index which began the day on a flat note turned volatile in early trades. The Nov` 09 IIP numbers which stood at 11.70% v/s 2.5% (Y-o-Y) basis did bring in a breather for the markets but the same was short lived

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices too failed to maintain their upward trend and ended lower by 1.14% each. BSE IT index which cheered the Q3FY`10 result was the major support provider to the market.

Broader markets performed on mixed note. Asian stocks ended mixed, as Chinese auto sales and better-than-estimated profit at Infosys Technologies fueled optimism that regional growth will outpace the rest of the world.

Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 rose 80.82 points, or 0.75%, to end at 10,879.14. Hong Kong`s Hang Seng decreased 84.88 points, or 0.38%, to end at 22,326.64.

European stocks which opened positive traded on a weak note. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 shed 18.23 points, or 0.34%, to trade at 5,518.67.

French benchmark index CAC 40 decreased 18.86 points or 0.47% to trade at 4,024.19.

Germany`s benchmark index DAX gained 26.85 points or 0.46%% to trade at (4.09 pm).

The Sensex ended the day with a loss of 104.20 points, or 0.59% at 17,422.51 after touching a high of 17,612.00 and a low of 17,392.55. The broad-based NSE Nifty fell 39.00 points, or 0.74% at 5,210.40 after hitting a high of 5,300.50 and a low of 5,200.95.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Wipro (4.89%), Tata Consultancy Services (4.88%), Infosys Technologies (3.97%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.64%), Tata Power Company (0.38%), and Reliance Industries (0.20%).

On the other hand, DLF (3.86%), Reliance Communications (3.49%), Tata Steel (3.42%), Sterlite Industries (India) (3.18%), ICICI Bank (3.08%), and State Bank Of India(2.84%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was positive. Out of the total 2991 shares traded at BSE, 1,077 advanced, 1,850 declined while 64 remained unchanged.

Major gainers in the sectoral indices were BSE IT which climbed 3.91%, TECk climbed 2.21%, Auto climbed 0.13%, Oil & Gas climbed 0.55%.

Among major losers in the sectoral indices - BSE Realty lost 3.1%, Metal declined 2.3%, Bankex lost 1.96%, PSU dropped 1.7% and Consumer Durables went down -1.59