Sensex ends lower for third straight day: L&T plunges

Markets ended the day lower for the third successive day in a row as selling in heavyweight Larsen and Toubro pulled indices lower. The Sensex closed the day lower by 32 points (provisional), while the Nifty closed lower by 20 points.

Among the top loser in trade was L&T which shed 5 per cent, following a poor set of quarterly numbers. In line with L&T other infra stocks like Jaiprakash Associoates, Adani Ports, IVRCL, Reliance Power and Voltas also lost ground.

Top Nifty losers in trade were BPCL, DLF, Indusind Bank, Hero Motor Corp, Reliance Industries and Tata Power.

Among the Nifty stocks that saw buying interest were Bharti Airtel, Coal India and NTPC. IT stocks continued to see buying interest on the back of a weakening rupee. Among the notable gainers from the IT pack were TCS and HCL Tech.

Pharma stocks ended the day subdued after worries over Ranbaxy surfaced on Tuesday. Banking stocks also ended the day lower as selling pressure in Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank pulled the Bankex lower.

Major Asian markets ended mixed as investors eyed the testimony on the economy from US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to the Congress later today and the FOMC minutes. Europe was trading subdued ahead of the Bernanke's testimony.

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