Europe worries, Tsunami warning put markets in red zone

Indian markets closed the volatile session in the negative terrain, with the Sensex down by 44 points and the Nifty down by 17 points.

Major Headlines:

Cement stocks dip ahead of cartelization report

Aviation stks dip: Govt can decide on aviation FDI tomorrow

Metal index the top loser in sectoral pack



Indian Indices

It was a volatile day, with the Indian markets closing the trade on a negative note. The markets turned green in the afternoon session but failed to maintain it till the close after Tsunami fear.

Persistent selling pressure in metal, consumer durables, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, Realty, Power and Auto Stocks led to decline. Major heavyweight draggers were - RIL, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Jindal Steel, BHEL, Tata Steel and Tata Power. Overall mood remained cautious ahead of earnings season.

Cement shares were the biggest losers on reports that the CCI is likely to come out with its report on cement cartelization by April 12, 2012. ACC, JK Cement and Jaiprakash Associates fell between 3-5%.

Aviation stocks Spicejet, KFA and Jet Airways surged over 5% on FDI hopes.

The indices hit fresh intraday highs in late afternoon trade after positive opening in the European markets but failed to maintain it.

The Sensex closed 44 points lower at 17199 and the Nifty stood at 5227, down by 17 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth stood in favour of declines. Of the 2892 stocks traded on the BSE, 1232 (42.60%) rose, 1539 (53.22%) fell and 121 (4.18%) remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes

Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy was traded the most with over 0.56 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that a real estate development company - HDIL (0.44 crore shares), India's third largest cement producer - Jaiprakash Associates (0.32 crore shares), India's leading natural gas distribution companies - Indraprastha Gas (0.31 crore shares) and an integrated infrastructure development company - Lanco Infratech (0.30 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Among the 13 sectoral indices, nine closed lower. The gainers were - BSE HC which gained by 0.58%, BSE Bankex and BSE IT up 0.19% respectively and BSE FMCG rose 0.10%. The topmost losers were - BSE Metal which dipped 1.34%, BSE CD fell 1.05% and BSE Oil & Gas dropped 0.86%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were Strides Arcolab which jumped 6.02%, Financial Technologies gained 5.75% and Max India rose 3.63%. Top three losers were - Gujarat Gas Company which dipped 7.34%, Century Textiles & Industries fell 6.17% and Reliance Capital slipped 5.48%.

Global Signals

The Europe's shares posted modest gains on Wednesday (April 11, 2012), clawing back some of the steep losses seen in the previous session, boosted by beaten-down miners and banking stocks.

The Asian shares were mostly lower on Wednesday, plagued by renewed worries over the European debt crisis and an overnight sell-off on Wall Street.

US stock index futures pointed to a higher opening for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday. Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.1% to 0.3%.

Market Outlook: Data to be released in the US on Wednesday is:- Import & Export Prices, EIA Petroleum Status Report, Beige Book and Treasury Budget.