Sensex ends below 18K...Nifty under 5350

The Indian equities resumed their southbound journey on Wednesday with the two main indices finishing below key psychological levels a day before the derivative settlement.

The mood remained somber almost throughout the session amid nagging worries over the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and trepidation over the end of QE2 in the US.

The market started at the day's high but steadily lost ground to hit intraday low in mid afternoon. The two indices managed to recoup some of the losses by the close of trade though.



The BSE Sensex closed at 17,847, down 164 points or 0.9% over the previous close. It had earlier opened at a day’s high of 17,976 and touched a day’s low of 17,786.

The NSE Nifty ended at 5,348, down 46 points or 0.85% over the previous close. It earlier opened at a day’s high of 5,389 before hitting a day’s low of 5,328.

The broader market continued to be under pressure as well, but it fared a tad better as compared to the Large-Cap shares. The market breadth was weak.

Capital Goods, IT and Realty indices were the top losers so far today. Power, Oil & Gas, Metals and Banking indices also closed in the red.

The Consumer Durables index was the top winner, rising by over 1%. It was the only sectoral index on the BSE to finish in the positive terrain.

Shares of real estate major DLF fell sharply after the company's Q4 results missed market expectations. Shares of IT giants Infosys, TCS and Wipro fell amid worries that their US business could be hit amid the ongoing visa controversy.

Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Ambuja Cement and Jindal Steel were the notable gainers on the Nifty. Tata Motors and ITC also gained modestly.

Cairn India and Tata Steel were nervous before Q4 results.

"It was a day of Large-Cap led selling as traders braced for Thursday's F&O expiry and earnings from a few index heavyweights like Tata Steel, Cairn India and Tata Motors. The broader market has been subdued for a while now and today was no exception. Weak Asian markets weighed on the sentiment early on, and we couldn't recover despite a recovery in the European indices.

The fact that the NSE Nifty has closed below 5350 is a bit of a worry from the technical point of view. Some more downside cannot be ruled out in the backdrop of global concerns and domestic headwinds. FII flows have been largely negative as well. It may take a while before the offshore investors resume their shopping spree in India," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL (India Private Clients).

In global action, most Asian equity benchmarks finished lower. The Chinese index was down almost 1% while the Nikkei in Japan lost 0.5%. The Kospi in South Korea fell over 1% while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was also down 1%.

In currencies, the dollar and yen advanced against their major counterparts. The euro was down amid persistent worries about euro-zone debt problems. Gold futures edged lower during Asian trading. Oil dropped in New York after an industry-funded report showed higher gasoline inventories in the US.

European indices fell in opening trade, dragged down by weakness in financial, auto and resources companies. But the continental stocks managed to claw their way back smartly.