Sensex sags on overseas woes…Nifty holds 5400

The Indian markets have been a bit volatile in the week so far, but the overall bias has been negative owing to the weak global backdrop. The key Indian indices today fell for the second straight trading session with the BSE Sensex dropping below 18,000. But the NSE Nifty managed to end above 5400.

Finally, the BSE Sensex ended at 17,945 losing 169 points. It had earlier touched a day's high of 18,005 and a day's low of 17,859. It opened at 17,970. The NSE Nifty closed at 5,404 losing 52 points.



Within the Sensex and the Nifty, the top gainers are RelianceInfra, ITC, Tata Power, Hindalco and ONGC.

The notable losers in the Sensex and Nifty are L&T, TataMotors, DLF, Bajaj Auto, Ranbaxy and Jindal Steel.

Within BSE 500, Shree Ashtavina, Lanco Infra, Peninsula Land, MVL and Jindal South are among the gainers. While, IVRCL Ltd, Jubiliant Fodworks, Moser Baer, Karuturi Global and L&T are among the losers.

The Indian markets opened gap down, tracking a sell off in the overseas equities, as investors continued to fret over the fiscal health of the US economy and its implications for the world economy.

Today’s decline was led by the index heavyweights like L&T, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and DLF, dragging the Nifty to an intra-day low of 5379. However, the index recovered towards the end and managed to hold above the 5400 levels.

Technically, the Nifty has ended below its ascending support trend line, which indicates that further sell-off on Dalal Street is possible.

"The undercurrent remains fragile amid persistent declines for equity markets around the world. Investors are jittery about the health of the global economy amid mounting concerns about the sovereign debt problems in the US and eurozone.

Also, recent economic statistics from the US have been pretty downbeat, fueling fears of an accelerated slowdown in the world's largest economy. Risk aversion is on the rise, with gold hitting new record high and investors flocking to other safe havens like bonds and Swiss francs.

Hopefully, we will see a rebound after a two-day selloff. The European markets had already recovered and US stock futures were also positive. The monthly US jobs data on Friday will be an important event to watch out for," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL - India Private Clients.