Sensex, Nifty close lower on weak global cues

Mumbai, Dec 17: Bombay Stock Exchange"s Sensex closed at 9708.22, down 268.76 points or 2.69 per cent. While National Stock Exchange"s Nifty ended at 2952.85, down 88.90 points or 2.92 per cent. BSE Midcap Index was down 3.58 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index fell 2.82 per cent.

HDFC bank, ICICI bank, Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever are the major gainers of the day.

Weak global cues; Markets under pressure

The benchmark indices are under pressure due to sell-off in capital goods, power, telecom, select metal stocks as well as in Reliance Industries and Satyam Computers. Weak global cues are fueling the negative sentiment as well. The Nifty again slipped below 3000 mark and is now hovering around the same level.

Meanwhile BSE Sensex tumbled 134 points to 9,842 and the Nifty lost 46 points to 2,995, at 2:10 hours IST. BSE Midcap also slipped 0.6 pc while Small Cap Index is flat.Satyam Computer Services is trading lower by Rs 62.55, or 27.62 per cent at Rs 163.95.
02:30 PM

Markets remain weak; Nifty above 3K

The markets continue to remain volatile. Weakness is seen in power, capital goods, telecom, pharma stocks followed by Satyam, Reliance Industries, SAIL and DLF. However, the benchmark indices are also getting support from Infosys, ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HUL, TCS and Grasim, due to which the fall is limited.

The Nifty which opened below 3000 in early trade managed to stay above that level, though there is weakness. It fell 23 points to 3,018 and the Sensex lost 65 points to 9,911, at 11:08 hours IST.
11:40 AM

Markets in red; Satyam down by 30 pc

As a result of positive cues from the global market, the Indian stock markets opened higher ion Wednesday, Dec 17 morning. At 9:56 am, the Sensex gained 55 points at 10,031 and the Nifty rose 17 points to 3,059. BSE Midcap and Small Cap indices. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ONGC, HDFC, Infosys, TCS, L&T, SBI and BHEL are major gainers in the opening trade.

However Satyam Computers fell 30 per cent and Maytas Infrastructure lost 11 per cent in the early trade. Satyam shares are volatile after the news of Satyam-Maytas deal were declared. Satyam Computers had announced on Tuesday, Dec 16 that they will buy 51 pc stake in Maytas Infrastructure and 100 pc in Maytas Properties. The company was planning to use cash of $1.2 billion from its books. However, investors said this is an corporate governance issue and the company can't use this money for such acquisition, as both businesses don't have any connection. On Wednesday, Dec 17, Satyam called of the deal following reverse investor reaction.

US stocks rallied on Tuesday, Dec 16 after the Federal Reserve slashed its target for the interbank federal funds rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent, a record low, from 1.0 percent, and said it was willing to keep rates low for an extended period. This move from US Fed came to combat the ongoing recession.

OneIndia News (With input from Agencies)