Nifty ends at 5450; Japan nuclear crisis weighs

Indian markets ended in the negative territory Tuesday in line with global peers as leakage of harmful radiation from Japan's nuclear plants weighed sentiments.

The radiation levels in Japan have increased high enough to harm humans after explosion at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was crippled after the devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, said news reports.

Investors were also wary ahead of Reserve Bank of India's meet Thursday. The central bank is likely to hike rates to curb inflation which rose to 8.31 per cent in February against 8.23 in January.

Indian market opened with a gap-down in line with peers but buying activity in heavy-weight Reliance ind helped the benchmarks to pare some of the intra-day losses.

"Gross refining margins are expected to be good around $11.8 for this quarter and there's buzz of advance tax payment as well," said, Anita Gandhi, whole time director, .

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18167.64, down 271.84 points or 1.47 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 17920.55 and high of 18326.33 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 5449.65, down 81.85 points or 1.48 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5373.65 and high of 5497.85 intra-day.

"Volatility will continue for next few sessions due to crisis in Japan. There are concerns of harmful radiation spreading further and if Japanese funds start selling actively then it will put some pressure on the market. Market will also keenly await RBI's meet outcome. 5400 looks like a good support and the Nifty may hold on to it," she added.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.43 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.163 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index fell 3.14 per cent, BSE Auto Index declined 2.03 per cent and BSE Metal Index was down 2.02 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.32 per cent.

Nifty ends at 5450; Japan nuclear crisis weighs

Indian markets ended in the negative territory Tuesday in line with global peers as leakage of harmful radiation from Japan's nuclear plants weighed sentiments.

The radiation levels in Japan have increased high enough to harm humans after explosion at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was crippled after the devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, said news reports.

Investors were also wary ahead of Reserve Bank of India's meet Thursday. The central bank is likely to hike rates to curb inflation which rose to 8.31 per cent in February against 8.23 in January.

Indian market opened with a gap-down in line with peers but buying activity in heavy-weight Reliance ind helped the benchmarks to pare some of the intra-day losses.

"Gross refining margins are expected to be good around $11.8 for this quarter and there's buzz of advance tax payment as well," said, Anita Gandhi, whole time director, .

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18167.64, down 271.84 points or 1.47 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 17920.55 and high of 18326.33 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 5449.65, down 81.85 points or 1.48 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5373.65 and high of 5497.85 intra-day.

"Volatility will continue for next few sessions due to crisis in Japan. There are concerns of harmful radiation spreading further and if Japanese funds start selling actively then it will put some pressure on the market. Market will also keenly await RBI's meet outcome. 5400 looks like a good support and the Nifty may hold on to it," she added.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.43 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.163 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index fell 3.14 per cent, BSE Auto Index declined 2.03 per cent and BSE Metal Index was down 2.02 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.32 per cent.

Sensex ends lower on Japan quake, economic woes

Indian markets pared some off the intra-day losses and ended near support levels Friday reacting to earthquake and tsunami waves in Japan, weak US economic data and protests in the middle-east.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.9, worst in 140 years, struck northern coast of Japan triggering Tsunami waves as high as 10 meters. Nuclear reactors and airports were affected as the waves damaged everything that came in their way.

According to experts, apart from sentimental knee-jerk reaction, Indian markets will not be affected by the tragedy in Japan.

?Does it make any difference to Indian economy? I do not think so. Is it hitting sentiment in the market today? Absolutely, the markets moved down. But I do not think people can change their investment decisions in India because of this tragedy in Japan,? said Adrian Mowat , MD & Chief EM Strategist, JP Morgan to ET Now.

The tremors hit global markets badly which were already under pressure on economic concerns. Indian markets had opened in the red reacting to weekly jobless claims in the US which increased to 397000. Trade deficit also worsened more than expected to $46.3 billion.

Public unrest in the middle-east also kept the investors jittery. Demonstrators had planned protests in the Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh for political reforms.

There was some relief back home as January IIP data turned out to be better-than-expected. India?s Industrial Output in January grew at 3.7 per cent against 2.5 per cent in December.

?With the base effect impacting the numbers, Jan industrial output remained subdued but came in higher than ours and consensus expectations (Citi 2.8%; Consensus 2.9%).

Given the continuation of the high base effect in the coming quarter (growth averaged 15%), we except the numbers to remain in low single-digits,? said Rohini Malkani, Economist, Citi India.

?We thus maintain our view of the RBI hiking by an additional 50bps in 2011 with a 25bps hike likely in its review next week and a further 50bps 2012,? she added.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said he was not satisfied with the pace of expansion of India's industrial output.

National Stock Exchange?s Nifty ended at 5445.45, down 48.95 points or 0.89 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5411.55 and high of 5502.70 in today?s trade.

Bombay Stock Exchange?s Sensex closed at 18174.09, down 153.89 points or 0.84 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18063.29 and high of 18368.43 intraday.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.07 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 1.12 per cent.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal Index fell 1.91 per cent lower, BSE IT Index slipped 1.49 per cent and BSE Power Index was down 1.49 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.81 per cent and BSE FMCG Index was up 0.03 per cent.

Bank, metal drag Sensex down 142 points

Cutting short the two-day gaining streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex today fell by 142 points due to selling by funds as rising crude oil prices sparked fears of interest rate hike amid a weakening global trend.

The 30-share barometer fell by 141.97 points to 18,327.98 points. The index had gained 247 points in the last two trading sessions. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 36.60 points to 5,494.40 points.

Global stock markets declined on renewed concern about the euro debt crisis and rising crude oil prices that might curb the global economic growth.

Banking and metal stocks fell on fears that easing food inflation might be temporary and the Reserve Bank of India might further hike interest rate at its policy meeting next week.

The food inflation fell to 9.52 per cent for the week ended February 26 from 10.39 per cent in the previous week.

Crude oil climbed as escalating violence in Libya, Africa’s third-largest producer, renewed concern that supply disruptions may spread in West Asia.

Marketmen said the investor confidence remained jittery on fears of more tightening measures to stabilise economic growth in the RBI policy review scheduled next week.

Financial company stocks remained under pressure and suffered the most as the Government has increased its repurchase rate seven times in the past year to 6.5 per cent to stem inflation.

The Sensex has lost 13 per cent from its record level on November 5, making it the world’s third-worst performing benchmark index on concern that the Government measures to quell inflation will hurt economic growth.

Banking index fell by 1.16 per cent to 12,313.14 as the stocks of SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined. Metal index dropped by 1.3 per cent to 15,666.92 followed by Teck index by 0.54 per cent to 3,656.65.

IT index lost 0.53 per cent to 6,242.98, Consumer Durables index 0.53 per cent to 5,760.96 and FMCG index 0.46 per cent to 3,490.64.

As the selling pressure spread over a wide-front, small cap index lost 0.25 per cent to 7,989.69 and mid cap index 0.07 per cent to 6,599.79.

sensex ends marginally higher

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended higher by 30 points after a volatile trade as investors indulged in adjusting their portfolios on easing political concerns and dropping crude oil prices.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed with a moderate gain of 30.30 points at 18,469.95. During the day, the barometer touched a high of 18,583.30 points and a low of 18,303.80 points.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed up by 10.2 points at 5,531 points.

Putting to rest political worries, the DMK, an ally of the UPA Government at the Centre, agreed to a seat-sharing deal with the Congress for the coming Tamil Nadu elections.

A better trend in the Asian region as cheer from a drop in crude oil prices also supported the market to some extent.

Crude oil prices fell from a 29-month high in the global markets, eroding inflationary concerns and reducing the fears of another interest rate hike.

Maximum support to the gauge came in from the realty, consumer durables, auto and power sector stocks, while a weak trend in healthcare and IT sectors on profit-selling mainly capped the gains.

Market leader Reliance Industries gained nearly 1 per cent which also supported the market.

The realty sector index gained the most by rising 1.74 per cent to 2,106.44 followed by consumer durables index 0.88 per cent to 5,791.41. The auto index rose 0.72 per cent to 8,854.54 and power index by 0.48 per cent to 2,597.79.

As investors indulged in adjusting their portfolios with low value strong stocks, small cap index rose 0.82 per cent to 8,009.65 and mid cap index 0.65 per cent to 6,604.72.

Nifty ends 58 points up; Bharti, Suzlon, ONGC gain

Indian markets ended on a positive note as easing crude oil prices and reports of efforts between DMK and Congress over seat sharing ahead of Tamil Nadu elections boosted sentiments. Oil prices fell over $2 per barrel after reports that OPEC was likely to boost oil production in order to stem rising prices.

Markets opened in the green taking cues from Asian peers and as buying emerged after profit booking in previous session. The benchmarks held on to their gains and moved higher towards the close of session as the DMK leaders met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

We believe the political environment will remain uncertain in the near term as various political parties shift positions in the run-up to assembly polls. This may keep financial markets volatile in the near term. However, medium-term performance of markets will still be shaped by the evolving macroeconomic outlook, said Edelweiss report.

Bombay Stock Exchange s Sensex ended at 18439.65 up 216.98 points or 1.19 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18266.62 and high of 18466.81 intraday.

National Stock Exchange s Nifty closed at 5520.80, up 57.65 points or 1.06 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5464.75 and high of 5530.55 in today s trade.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.97 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.76 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 1.90 per cent, BSE Metal Index moved 1.49 per cent higher and BSE Bankex moved 1.48 per cent up.

Sensex ends 264 points lower; auto, banks, realty down

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended in the red but off day’s lows as investors bought frontline stocks available near support levels. Concerns of interest rate hike due to inflationary pressure after spike in crude oil prices saw bears hammering stocks from rate sensitive sectors.

Fears of political instability back home due to fall-out between DMK and UPA government on seat-sharing hurt sentiments. According to reports, the talks between both the parties have resumed and some amicable solution with out ahead of forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

According to market experts the weakness is likely to continue in the near term due to weak economic data and political developments back home.

"On the international front, the events in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other Middle East countries have increased the Indian crude oil basket again to a $108 mark indicating a red flag on equity markets world over.Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18222.67, down 263.78 points or 1.43 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18058.71 and high of 18361.65 intraday.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5463.15, down 75.60 points or 1.36 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5408.45 and high of 5491.25 in today’s trade.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.41per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 1.43 per cent.Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index fell 2.55 per cent, BSE Capital Goods Index was down 2.36 per cent, BSE Realty Index moved 1.66 per cent lower and BSE Bankex declined 1.60 per cent.



To add to this, the fallout of the DMK withdrawal would again keep pressure on the Indian markets. With the political risks rising we believe that the government machinery will be less inclined to take decision, the direct of impact of which will be on a lot of infrastructure projects that needs green signals.