Markets end in red after 3-day rise

Profit booking emerged today, which dragged the Indian markets lower. The Sensex down 48 points and the Nifty down 10 points.
Headlines for the day
Kingfisher Airlines reports 75% wider net loss in Q3
Sun Pharma drops after Wyeth slaps $960 mn damage suit
Sasken Communication soars as board approves buyback
Telecom stocks gain on new telecom rules



Indian indices
Markets closed the trade on a negative note after three days of gains. Profit booking today contributed to the weakness. Heavyweight draggers — RIL, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Coal India, Tata Steel and Hindalco. Continuous weakness in metal, oil & gas and consumer durables stocks kept the markets in red. Weak European cues also led the decline.
Sensex movements: Mirroring weak global cues, the Sensex opened the trade 39 points lower at 18163. The index slipped further as profit booking emerged and hit an intraday low of 18043 in the late morning session. However, index trimmed some of its losses in the afternoon session on buying in sectors like realty, power, capital goods and technology. The Sensex closed 48 points lower at 18154 and the Nifty fell by 10 points to close at 5522.
Market sentiment
The market breadth stood in favour of advances. Of the 3044 stocks traded on the BSE, 1640 (53.88%) rose, 1292 (42.44%) fell and 112 (3.68%) remained unchanged.
Viewing volumes
An integrated infrastructure development company - Lanco Infratech was traded the most, with over 1.68 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that industrial finance company - IFCI (1.56 crore shares), wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.77 crore shares), major Indian telecommunication company - Reliance Communications (0.74 crore shares) and company engaged in power generation and setting up of power projects - Adani Power (0.61 crore shares).
Sectoral & stock screening
Among the 13 sectoral indices, nine stood in green. Top gainers - BSE Realty up by 1.53%, BSE Power up 1.37% and BSE CG up by 0.65%. Top losers - BSE Metal down by 1.63%, BSE Oil & Gas down by 1.53% and BSE CD down by 0.92%.
Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- IFCI up by 11.68%, Housing Development & Infrastructure up by 8.07% and Aditya Birla Nuvo up by 6.71%. Top three losers - Voltas fell by 5.54%, Coal India fell by 5.44% and Indusind Bank fell by 4.81%.
Global Indices:
The European shares declined on Thursday (February 16, 2012), as a delay in a decision on a crucial bailout for Greece unnerved investors and prompted a pause in the market rally that has marked the start of 2012.
The Asian shares closed lower on Thursday as investors fretted about the possibility of a messy Greek default.
The US stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday.
Market Outlook: US data to watch out for on Thursday — Housing Starts, Jobless Claims, Producer Price Index and Philadelphia Fed Survey.