Markets slip sharply in late trade; Nifty ends with modest cut

The markets opened on firm note today and proceeded to trade strong through the day but could not maintain the momentum in late trade and slipped sharply on the back weak cues from the European markets. Finally Sensex and Nifty ended on flat note.

It was a day of strength for the capital goods, metal, power, banking and pharmaceutical stocks. BSE midcap and smallcap indices also performed well in line with frontline counters. Heavy profit booking was witnessed in scrips across sectors in the late trade, leading to sharp decline from its day' s high. IT and FMCG stocks remained subdued for most part of the day.

Sensex ended up 19.80 points or 0.11% at 17825.99, and the Nifty was down 1.65 points or 0.03% at 5268.40. About 1543 shares advanced, 1398 shares declined, and 97 shares were unchanged. BSE midcap ended up 0.43% at 7723.56 and smallcap was up 0.26% at 9673.86.

BSE auto index ended up 0.57% at 4773.34. Punjab Tractors, M&M and Maruti Suzuki were some of the majo gainers.

BSE bankex closed in red with a loss of 0.32% at 10156.52. Axis Bank, PNB and Union Bank were some of the major gainers. 

BSE capital good index ended up 2.37% at 16506.67. Astra Microwave, Bharat Bijlee and Crompton Greaves were the top gainers in thei space.

BSE FMCG index ended up 0.19% at 2254.98. Godrej Consumer, Bata India and Marico were some top fliers in this counter.

BSE pharma index closed up 1.22% at 3860.02. Glaxo Smithknlime, Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy labs were some of the top gainers in this space.

BSE IT index was down 2.20% at 3973.12. Satyam, Patni Computers and Infosys were some of the top losers in the IT sector. 

BSE metal index ended down 0.95% at 16642.01. Ispat industries, Hind Zinc and Jindal Saw were some of the top gainers.

BSE oil & gas index ended up 0.4% at 11259.92. GAIL, Petronet LNG and ONGC were some of the top fliers in energy sector.

BSE power index closed up 0.73% at 3733.77. CESC, Power Grid Corp and Crompton Greaves are top gainers.

Asian markets were trading higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.86% or 679.35 points at 24,394.10. Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.39% or 191.72 points at 14,016.44. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted shot up 1.43% or 119.09 points at 8,426.76. Singapore's Straits Times rose 1.57% or 48.17 points at 3,126. South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.91% or 15.54 points at 1,724.67.