Markets close lower in thin trade

It was a sluggish session for the markets amid thin trading volumes. The Sensex fell 70 points and the Nifty declined 18 points at the close

Major headlines

BHEL declines on reports of disinvestment

Tata Communications rises as Supreme Court clears part sale of VSNL land

Blue Dart to delist at Rs2100 per share



Indian indices

Markets were volatile in today’s trade, with no support from global equities. Investors remained on sidelines after the rally last week. Weakness in Reliance Industries, BHEL, ITC, DLF, ICICI Bank led to a major drag on the markets. Trading remained lacklustre as volume was quite low, which meant low participation from retail.

Sensex movements: The Sensex started the trade 23 points higher at 18838 and also its day’s high. Volatility was high, with the index touching the day’s low of 18694 in the afternoon session. The Sensex fell 70 points to close at 18745 and the Nifty stood at 5632, down by 18 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth was in favour of advances. Out of the 2,959 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,497 rose, 1,317 fell and 145 stocks traded unchanged.

Viewing volumes

Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy was the most traded, with over 0.38 crore shares changing hands on the BSE, followed by one of the leading integrated steel makers - Ispat Industries (0.26 crore shares), company engaged in infrastructure business - BF Utilities (0.20 crore shares), one of the fastest growing integrated infrastructure enterprises of India - Lanco Infratech (0.19 crore shares) and cement major - Ambuja Cements (0.19 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Eight sectors fell while rest five managed to rise. Losers - BSE Oil & Gas was the top loser declining by 1.60%, followed by BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and BSE Realty fell by 1.29% each. Gainers - BSE Auto was the top gainer rising by 0.88%, followed by BSE Information Technology (IT) up by 0.37% and BSE Bankex gained by 0.33%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers - BF Utilities surged by 9.17%, MOIL gained by 5.17% and Tata Communications rose by 4.38%. Top three losers - Uco Bank fell by 4.96%, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) slid by 4.49% and Nestle India lost by 3.42%.

Global signals

The European markets were mixed on Tuesday, as reports suggesting that a rate hike could happen as early as this weekend in China led to some caution among traders

The Asian markets closed on a mixed note on Tuesday. Nikkei rose by 0.07% and Straits Times fell by 0.75%.

The US stock index futures point to a slightly higher opening on the Wall Street on Tuesday.

Market Outlook: Factory Orders data will be released in the US on Tuesday.