Sensex ends lower in lacklustre session

Profit-taking in select bluechips after the recent gains and weak overseas markets pushed Indian markets marginally lower on Tuesday. The Sensex ended 49 points lower at 17,131 in a lacklustre session, after trading in a narrow range of around 200 points.

On the NSE, Nifty ended below 5100 at 5,090, down 13 points. The overall market breadth on the BSE was slightly in favour of decliners. On the BSE, 1,410 stocks declined vs 1324 gainers, while 78 remained unchanged.

Auto and technology stocks advanced today. The BSE auto rose 1.4 per cent. Bharat Forge jumped 7 per cent and Escorts was up 5.3 per cent.

In the IT space, NIIT rose 4.8 per cent and Rolta gained over 1 per cent.

Sugar stocks also gained today. Balrampur Chini ended up 6 per cent and Bajaj Hindusthan also rose 5.5 per cent.

Metal and oil & gas stocks, however, fell in today’s trade.The metal index on the BSE was down 0.8 per cent and the oil & gas index ended 0.7 per cent lower. Among the metal stocks, Tata Steel fell 2.7 per cent and Jai Corp was down 2.6 per cent.
In the oil & gas space, Essar Oil shed nearly 2 per cent. ONGC and GAIL fell over 1 per cent each.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Steel was the biggest loser. The stock ended down 2.7 per cent at Rs 557. Reliance Infra and ITC dropped over 2 per cent each.

Maruti Suzuki was the biggest gainer in the group. The stock surged 2.6 per cent to Rs 1,599. M&M, Bharti Airtel and Hero Honda gained over 2 per cent each.
Asian stock markets retreated on Tuesday as China's warning to banks to control their lavish lending underlined the risks to an economic recovery driven by easy credit. European shares were lower in their early trade. Investors shrugged off Wall Street ending a three-day losing streak on Monday and figures showing that US home sales rose 10 percent in October.

News that China's central bank was warning banks to control a lending spree underscored there are limits to the easy credit which has underpinned Asia's rapid recovery from the global recession. Investors fretted the central bank's warning as China's Shanghai index tumbled 3.5 per cent.