Markets end flat in choppy trade

Markets close the first day of the week on a flat note. The Sensex down by 3 points and the Nifty down by 3 points.

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Indian indices

The key benchmark indices were volatile on the first day of the week and closed the trade on a flat note. The indices showed smart recovery in the afternoon trade after seeing losses in the morning session. Investors chose to stay away ahead of inflation data and Reserve Bank of India's policy review meet later this week.

RIL was the biggest culprit in trade today alongwith heavyweights like TCS, SBI and Wipro, which led the markets to trade weak.

OMCs and airline stocks gained on a decline in crude oil prices. Banking stocks ended on a mixed note as the countdown begins for the next credit policy scheduled on Thursday (June 16, 2011). The central bank is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points to rein in inflation.

Weak global cues led the Sensex to begin the trade 26 points lower at 18242 and fell further to hit the day’s low of 18121 in early trade. Later, the index began to trim losses and recovered in the afternoon session, hitting the day’s high of 18313. The Sensex settled at 18266, down by 3 points and the Nifty stood at 5483, down by 3 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth stood in favour of advances. Of the 2,939 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,435 surged while 1,376 fell. However, 128 stocks remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes

An infrastructure firm - GVK Power & Infrastructure was traded the most, with over 0.18 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. It was followed by Kerala-based gold loan financier - Manappuram General Finance & Leasing (0.17 crore shares), India's number 2 mobile carrier - Reliance Communications (0.16 crore shares), a Jaypee group firm - Jaiprakash Associates (0.16 crore shares) and wind tu rbine maker - Suzlon Energy (0.15 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Eight sectoral indices rose, while rest five fell. On gainers’ side, BSE Consumer Durables (CD) rose by 1.39%, BSE Power surged by 0.74% and BSE Capital Goods (CG) went up by 0.71%. On losers’ side, BSE Metal declined by 0.99%, BSE Oil & Gas slipped by 0.74% and BSE Realty down by 0.30%.

On 'A' group stocks' front, top three gainers - Coromandel International advanced by 5.27%, IRB Infrastructure Developers surged by 4.80% and Tata Global Beverages rose by 4.33%. Top three losers - Bhushan Steel down by 3.27%, Emami slipped by 2.95% and United Breweries down by 2.76%.

Global signals

The European markets stabilised on Monday after the previous session's sharp sell-off, as analysts said global growth worries and the Greek debt crisis would continue to weigh on the market.

Barring Hang Seng and Kospi, all the Asian markets closed lower on Monday. Hang Seng index snapped a seven-day losing streak as banking shares led a late rally.

The US stock index futures signal higher opening on the Wall Street on Monday.