Markets end marginally lower on profit taking

Commentary

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Updated: Monday, December 3, 2012, 15:53 [IST]

After a sustained rally that added 4.4% to the S&P CNX Nifty in four trading sessions, the Indian markets finally took a breather due to profit taking.

The Nifty ended the day lower as traders unwound positions, ending the day lower by 8.90 points. The Sensex too shed recent gains and ended with losses of 34.58 points.

Today's gains were led by cement and infrastructure stocks with UltraTech Cement, ACC and Jaiprakash Associates rallying.

Auto stocks also saw buying support with Mahindra and Mahindra and Maruti amongst the Nifty gainers.

Banking and financials, however, saw some selling pressure with HDFC, IDFC, HDFC Bank and Kotak among the losers.

Other Nifty stocks that saw selling pressure included Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Lupin Laboratories, BPCL and ITC.

Shares of Mphasis jumped more than 4% in trade after reports that the company acquired US based data analytics company Digital Risk for USD 200 mn.

Jet Airways on the other hand jumped after reports that the company would approach FIPB for permission to tweak its ownership pattern to facilitate an equity investment by Etihad Airways.

Meanwhile, markets in Europe were trading higher, while markets in Asia ended mixed. Indian indices are expected to be volatile in trading, largely eyeing the voting in parliament to take place on FDI.

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