Sensex ends little changed; IT, banks up

Equities ended lacklustre session on a flat note Tuesday in line with other peers. Losses in realty, oil&gas and auto were offset by IT and banks. Indices have been tepid since the trade began and continued to remain dull due to lack of buying activity. Low volumes indicated that participants were taking a breather before next move on either side. The annual general meeting of Reliance Industries also failed to lift the stock and indices. Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries announced that his company plans aggressive exploration campaign, investments in petrochemicals and overseas acquisitions and investment in new businesses such as retailing and alternative energy. The scrip ended flat at 0.65 per cent lower on the BSE. Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 17,050.65, up 18.14 points or 0.11 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 17080.17 and low of 16882.98. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5062.25, up 4.2 points or 0.08 per cent. The index touched a low of 5010.15 and high of 5074 in today’s trade. “Traders need not worry as long as Nifty holds 4900. Every dip should be used as a buying opportunity. Trend will turn negative only if the Nifty slips below 4750. Volumes have been low for the past few sessions as traders are cautious at current levels and are expected to re-enter the market only above 5100. We are bullish on banks and infrastructure which can be bought on declines,” said Rakesh Gandhi, senior technical analyst, LKP Shares. BSE Midcap Index was down 0.08 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index rose 0.22 per cent. Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was down 1.19 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index fell 0.71 per cent and BSE Auto Index declined 0.13 per cent. BSE IT Index was up 2.02 per cent and BSE Bankex gained 0.34 per cent. Biggest Nifty gainers were Reliance Capital (6.07%), TCS (3.49%), Hero Honda (2.05%), Reliance Infrastructure (1.89%) and SAIL (1.85%). Losers were ONGC (-2.47%), DLF (-2.46%), Idea Cellular (-2.32%), Bharti Airtel (-2.08%) and ACC (-2.01%). Market breadth on BSE remained negative with 1389 declines against 1329 advances. European markets were in the red following decline in banks. The US markets too were expected to open in the red. At 5:30 pm IST, Dow Jones stock futures and S&P 500 were down 0.05 per cent each. Nasdaq 100 inched 0.03 per cent lower.