Markets end weak ahead of F&O expiry; FMCG, metals shine

The 30-share Sensex dropped 170 points to end at 27,226 and the 50-share Nifty lost 46 points to close at 8,240.

M arkets ended lower on continued selling spree by FIIs amid worries surrounding taxation.

Weakness in Index HDFC after posting marginal profits coupled with ITC and RIL contributed the most to the decline.

Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of the April F&O expiry due tomorrow.

The 30-share Sensex dropped 170 points to end at 27,226 and the 50-share Nifty lost 46 points to close at 8,240.

RUPEE

The rupee was trading flat against the US dollar today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange.

The weakness in dollar against other currencies overseas on weaker US data capped the rupee’s fall.

CRUDE OIL

Crude oil prices dipped on Wednesday as oversupply outweighed political uncertainty in Saudi Arabia where King Salman relieved the crown prince as well as several senior ministers and the chief executive of national oil company Saudi Aramco.

KEY STOCKS

On the sectoral front, BSE FMCG, Metal, Oil & Gas and Auto indices lost sheen and ended lower up to 1.7%.

However, BSE Healthcare, IT, Bankex, Consumer Durables, Realty indices ended higher up to 1%.

FMCG stocks continue to remain subdued as weak monsoon forecast is likely to hit rural volumes. ITC shed nearly 3% while Hindustan Unilever eased 0.3%.

Shares of telecom services provider Idea Cellular and Bharti Airtel fell by up to 5% on the bourses on profit booking despite reporting a good set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2015 (Q4).

Mortgage lender HDFC dropped nearly 2% after reporting a marginal rise of 8% in standalone net profit at Rs 1,862 crore for the quarter ending March 2015.

It was Rs 1,723 crore in March 2014. HDFC declared a dividend of Rs 13 per share. As of March 31, the loan book stands at Rs 2.28 lakh crore.

Most of the IT stocks displayed a smart recovery after a few sessions of losses. Tech Msahindra, Mintree, Infosys and Wipro ended higher up to 5%.

Vedanta shed over 2% on posting lower than expected quarterly results.

Private banking major Axis Bank gained over 4.5% after posting quarterly result that was in line with the street expectations.

ICICI Bank climbed over 1% on Tuesday extended gains and is up nearly 2% after several domestic brokerages upgraded the stock with ‘buy’ rating on expectations of improvement in asset quality going forward. Tata Steel lost over 0.5%.

British steel unions have given a legal notice to Tata Steel UK, a unit of Tata Steel Ltd, about their intention to start balloting members for industrial action, according tomedia reports.

Oil and Gas majors ONGC and RIL lost up to 25 on further decline in the crude oil prices.

However, the broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up between 0.4-1%.

The market breadth ended positive with 1,526 gainers and 1,179 losers on the BSE.