Markets snap 3-day winning streak

Mumbai, Mar 17:Three-day old pull-back rally in Indian benchmarks came to an end Tuesday as profit booking set in after sentiments in global markets turned bearish on concerns of credit card defaults in the US.

European markets were under pressure following decline in commodities and banking stocks. National Stock Exchange"s Nifty ended at 2756.95, down 20.3 points or 0.73 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 2738.70 and high of 2805.60 in trade so far.

BSE Midcap Index ended 0.22 per cent lower and BSE Smallcap Index edged 0.44 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was down 1.81 per cent, BSE Bankex fell 1.64 per cent and BSE Oil&gas Index declined 1.34 per cent.

Tata Motors (4.4pc), Hindalco Industries (2.58pc), Maruti Suzuki (1.72pc), ITC (1.29pc) and NTPC (1.08pc) ended with gains.

Tata Consultancy Services (-4.87pc), Jaiprakash Associates (-4.4pc), State Bank of India (3.93pc), Ranbaxy Laboratories (-1.99pc) and Reliance Industries (1.85pc) were the biggest Sensex losers.
4.23 PM

Sensex slips in red; TCS, HDFC, SBI down
Key indices were witnessing some selling pressure Tuesday as partial profit booking emerged after they hit resistance levels. IT, capital goods, oil&gas and banks declined while metals and realty held fort.

At 1 pm, Bombay Stock Exchange"s Sensex was at 8934.68, down 8.86 points or 0.10 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 8883.24 and high of 9024.12.

BSE Metal Index was up 2.24 per cent, BSE Realty Index moved up 1.16 per cent and BSE Auto Index was up 0.70 per cent.

TCS (-3.15pc), State Bank of India (-2pc), Infosys Technologies (-1.65pc), HDFC (-1.60pc) and Wipro (-1.60pc) were the major losers.

Sterlite Industries (3.50pc), Hindalco Industries (2.81pc), ICICI Bank (2.80pc), Reliance Communications (2.68pc) and Maruti Suzuki (1.87pc) were amongst the top index gainers.
2.42 PM

Trade lacklustre; TCS, Wipro drag
The pullback rally witnessed in the recent sessions cooled off Tuesday as trade turned lacklustre in line with the sideways movement in global markets. Even as gains in frontline stocks were muted, midcaps and smallcaps witnessed buying activity, though modest.

Technology stocks were hit the most, followed by oil & gas and capital goods stocks. But realty and metal counters, which were badly beaten earlier, edged higher Mahindra & Mahindra, up 2.05 per cent, extended gains for the second consecutive day making it the biggest index gainer. Tata Steel (2.04%), ACC (1.9%),

Hindalco Industries (1.87pc) and Reliance Communications (1.63pc) also posted decent gains.

Losers comprised Tata Consultancy Services (-4.48pc), Wipro (-2.78pc), Tata Motors (-2.22pc), Infosys Technologies (-2.04pc), Hindustan Unilever (-1.74pc) and Larsen & Toubro (-1.56pc).
11.47AM

Stocks open flat; technology stocks slip
Equities opened on a flat note with a negative bias on Tuesday, Mar 17 and global markets painted a mixed picture. Technology and oil & gas BSE stocks edged lower while realty and banks posted modest gains. Secondline stocks, however, witnessed some buying action.

Bombay Stock Exchange"s 30-share Sensex fell 4.49 points to 8941.07. National Stock Exchange"s benchmark Nifty slipped 0.85 points to 2776.40 from Monday"s close.

US stocks fell on Monday, Mar 16 after American Express Co said the number of people struggling to make credit card payments grew, erasing earlier optimism that banks could return to profit in the downturn.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 7.01 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end at 7,216.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2.66 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 753.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 27.48 points, or 1.92 percent, to 1,404.02.

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