Sensex closes 78 points lower on profit booking

Profit booking was the main reason behind today’s fall as the markets had rallied quite sharply yesterday. The Sensex fell 78 points and the Nifty slid 25 points

Major headlines

Excel Crop gains on hopes of SC removing export ban

NTPC signs Rs23.41 billion loan pact

India needs to bring down fiscal deficit: Basu

Indian economy will continue to grow: Pratibha Patil

Indian court rules against Tata in Singur land case



Indian indices

The Indian markets turned volatile in today’s trade after a huge upside in the previous session. Profit booking was seen in capital goods, metal, consumer durables, banking and auto stocks. Lack of supportive cues from global peers led to a lacklustre trade. Overall, it was rangebound session ahead of F&O expiry tomorrow (September 29, 2011).

Sensex movements: The Sensex began the session 139 points higher at 16663 and was also its day's high. After opening in green, the index soon witnessed volatility amid narrow range trade. Continuous losses in capital goods, metal, consumer durables, banking and auto stocks led the index to hit the day’s low of 16364 in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex stood 78 points lower at 16446 and the Nifty fell 25 points to close at 4946.

Market sentiment:

The market breadth stood in favour of declines. Of the 2,908 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,045 (35.94%) surged, 1,759 (60.49%) slipped and 104 (3.58%) traded unchanged.

Sectoral & stock screening

Seven sectors closed lower, while remaining six stood higher. Gainers - BSE FMCG and BSE IT advanced by 0.93%, followed by BSE HC surged by 0.43% and BSE Realty up by 0.33%. Losers - BSE CG declined by 2.09%, followed by BSE Metal down by 1.77% and BSE CD fell by 1.75%.

In 'A' group stocks, major gainers - Jain Irrigation Systems surged by 3.77%, Jindal Saw rose by 3.44% and Coromandel International up by 3.38%. Major losers - Reliance Capital declined by 6.65%, JSW Steel down by 6.63% and Jet Airways (India) fell by 6.20%.

Viewing volumes

A Jaypee Group firm - Jaiprakash Associates was traded the most with over 0.32 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that India's second largest developer - Unitech (0.26 crore shares), India's largest automobile company - Tata Motors (0.24 crore shares), India's largest real estate developer - DLF (0.22 crore shares) and one of India's leading and most valuable financial services companies in the private sector - Reliance Capital (0.22 crore shares).

Global Indices:

The European markets were mixed on Wednesday amid a report that pointed to division among Eurozone countries regarding the bailout for Greece.

The Asian stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday, as optimism over Europe's sovereign debt rescue plan faded amid lingering concerns over Greece's sovereign debt woes.

The US stock index futures pointed to a positive open on the Wall Street on Wednesday.

Market Outlook: Data releases in the US - Durable Goods Orders and EIA Petroleum Status Report.