Markets end lower; HUL slumps post results

Updated: Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 15:41 [IST]

Markets ended the day lower, after trading in a tight range for most of the day, as investor interest cooled-off, particularly in stocks that had risen sharply in the last few trading sessions. The share price of Hindustan Unilever slumped on lower than expected results and on reports of royalty payment to parent.

The Nifty ended the with losses of 33 points, while the Sensex shed 120 points in trade today. Among the stocks from the Nifty that lost maximum ground were HCL Tech, Lupin, Hindalco, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Tata Motors and Cairn India.

Nifty stocks that gained were Asian Paints, NTPC, ACC and Sun Pharma. Kotak Bank ended the day with gains after the bank reported better than expected numbers.

Pantaloon Retail rallied sharply by more than 9 per cent, following reports that the RBI has eased FII investments norms in the company. Other retail stocks also saw buying interest with Shopper's Stop , BrandHouse Retails and Provogue India gaining.

Shares of Cairn India dropped despite the company reporting a better than expected performance. Heavyweight, ITC ended the day lower despite reporting decent numbers on Monday.

Bank Nifty ended the day with losses with Canara Bank, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Yes Bank and State Bank among the losers.

Heavyweight, Reliance Industries which has rallied sharply ever since its results were announced ended the day flat.

IT stocks came in for some selling pressure with notable losers from the sector including names like TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech.

Metal stocks also came in for some selling pressure with the metal index ending the day in the negative. Among the metal stocks that lost ground were Jindal Saw, Hindalco and Tata Steel.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day mixed with the Japanese Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite ending the day with losses, while other markets like Hong Kong and Singapore's Strait Times ended the day with gains.

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