Markets end flat; metal stocks rally

Updated: Thursday, December 20, 2012, 15:42 [IST]

Markets ended the day lower led by declines in cement names like Ambuja Cements, ACC and Jaiprakash Associates.

The Nifty ended the day lower by 13 points, while the Sensex lost 22 points. Among the gainers in trade today were metal stocks like by Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel.

Other Nifty stocks that gained in trade today were Hindustan Unilever, TCS, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Asian Paints and DLF.

Nifty stocks that dragged the indices lower were BPCL, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Wipro and Sun Pharma.

PSU banks which were also rising in the last few trading sessions witnessed a drop with Allahabad Bank, IDBI Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of India being amongst the losers.

FMCG stocks ended the day mixed with ITC losing marginal ground, while HUL gained marginally.

IT stocks belied a weak trend with TCS amongst the gainers in trade. Among non index stocks Natco Pharma declined, despite the company receiving US FDA approval for Lansoprazole launch.

Realty stocks were in the limelight with Sobha Developer, Oberoi Realty and DB realty witnessed sharp gains in trade today.

The Bank Nifty ended the day with losses, led by declines in Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day mixed, while European shares were trading with losses. The German DAX, French CAC and the UK's FTSE all declined in trade.

GoodReturns.in