Market ends with modest losses

It turned out to be a volatile Monday, with the Sensex closing 42 points lower and the Nifty down by 11 points.

Headlines for the day

India’s services sector rebounds in November

Stone India executes MOU with German firm; stock gains

Retail shares tumble after govt puts FDI on pause

Praj Industries accelerates as board approves buyback



Indian indices

The Indian markets were highly volatile in today’s trade and closed the first session of the new week with modest losses. Profit booking was seen today on the back of strong rally last week. Losses in metal, consumer durables, FMCG and realty stocks led decline while gains in power, capital goods and technology stocks capped downside.

Investors are keenly watching forthcoming events in the eurozone for easing debt crisis. Events included today’s meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel; ECB & BoE meeting on Thursday and the EU Summit on Friday.

All eyes are on the EU Summit on December 9 and a decision on allowing the European Commission to determine the fiscal policy for all.

Sensex movements: The Sensex started the trade 35 points lower at 16812 and slipped further to hit an intraday low of 16691. Later tracking positive European cues, the index showed some recovery and hit an intraday high of 16863. However, the gains were short-lived and the index fell again to close in red. The Sensex closed 42 points lower at 16805 and the Nifty stood at 5039, down by 11 points.

Market sentiment:

The market breadth stood neutral. Of the 2842 stocks traded on the BSE, 1353 (47.61%) rose, 1337 (47.04%) fell and 152 (5.35%) stocks remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes:

Industrial finance company - IFCI was traded the most, with over 0.51 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that, wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.46 crore shares), one of the largest listed real estate companies in India - Indiabulls Real Estate (0.37 crore shares), India's leading retailer that operates multiple retail formats - Pantaloon Retail (India) (0.24 crore shares) and a real estate development company - HDIL (0.23 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening:

Among the 13 sectoral indices, major gainers — BSE Power advanced by 0.86%, BSE CG rose by 0.77% and BSE PSU surged by 0.24%. Major losers — BSE Metal fell by 0.90%, BSE CD down by 0.75% and BSE FMCG declined by 0.67%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers — Ashok Leyland surged by 5.39%, Shriram Transport Finance Co. up by 5.34% and Aurobindo Pharma up by 4.38%. Top three losers — Pantaloon Retail (India) down by 12.86%, Indiabulls Real Estate fell by 4.19% and CESC declined by 3.98%.

Global indices

The European stocks rose on Monday, on growing hopes of a sweeping solution to the euro zone debt crisis as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet ahead of a key summit.

The Asian indices closed higher on Monday, helped by improved sentiment towards the European debt crisis although uncertainty remained about how markets will assess Italy's new austerity plan.

The US stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on the Wall Street on Monday.

Market Outlook: In the US, Factory Orders and ISM Non-Manufacturing Index will be out on Monday.