Sensex falls, Nifty ends 7-day winning streak; auto, banks drag

The 30-share Sensex ended down 245 points at 28,799 and the 50-share Nifty closed down 81 points at 8,750.

Benchmark share indices ended lower on Wednesday, after closing over five week highs in the previous session, weighed down by IT majors on concerns that the appreciating rupee could hurt revenues while private banks pared early gains on profit taking in late trades.

The 30-share Sensex ended down 245 points at 28,799 and the 50-share Nifty closed down 84 points at 8,750. In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap index, down 0.5% and Smallcap index, down 0.6% performed better than the front-liners.

Market breadth in BSE ended negative with 1,488 declines against 1,374 advances.

Commenting on today's session, K Subramanian, Co-Head Equity Advisory, Altamount Capital said, "Some uptick in bank stocks was seen today on hopes of a rate cut by RBI as the wholesale inflation numbers have remained in negative territory.'

"However, in the near term all boils down to corporate earning figures for the March 2015 quarter which will primarily guide the markets." Economy

The Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) for the month of March has fallen 2.33% compared to the same month last fiscal.

In the preceding month the WPI figure was down 2.06%.

This is the fifth consecutive month of deflation in wholesale prices, a clear reflection of lower commodity prices that may nudge Reserve Bank of India to cut policy rates.

Minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha today spoke in favour of full capital account convertibility of the rupee to unleash the true potential of the Indian economy.

He said that that India should embrace this policy if it has to become a top global economy.

Buzzing Stocks

10 out of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE ended in red.

BSE Auto and Healthcare index, down 1.5% each were the top losers followed by BSE IT and Capital Goods indices down over 1% each. ITC emerged as one the top gainers and ended up around 1.3%.

JP Morgan has cut target price for ITC from Rs 370 to Rs 365 while keeping the rating unchaged at 'neutral.'

From the FMCG pack HUL declined around 1.3%. JP Morgan has raised the target price for HUL from Rs 790 to Rs 880. ICICI Bank ended 0.8% lower after paring gains and SBI ended 1.3% higher.

On Tuesday, ICICI Bank reduced its home loan rates by 25 basis points.

Capital goods stocks ended lower after gains in the previous session on the back of encouraging February IIP data. L&T lost 1% while BHEL has declined nearly 4%.

From the metal pack, Sesa Sterlite posted gains close to 2.5% while Hindalco and Tata Steel declined 0.3% and 2% respectively.

Tata Motors declined around 2%.

Tata Motors has launched the newest model of Jaguar called XE, an entry level luxury saloon car, from its factory in the West Midlands region of England.

Bajaj Auto declined around 1.7%. Bajaj Auto, on Tuesday, expanded its Pulsar range in the adventure sport motorcycle category, AS200 and AS150, priced at Rs 79,000 and Rs 91,550 (ex-showroom Delhi).

Bharti Airtel declined 2.5%.

A meeting of the Board of Directors of Bharti Airtel will be held on April 28, 2015, to consider and take on record the Audited Financial Results for the fourth Quarter and financial year ended on March 31, 2015.

Global Markets Most Asian markets declined today after China's growth data showed further signs of slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

Growth slowed down to a six-year low at 7% in the first quarter for China with both retail sales and industrial output missing forecasts.

Nikkei ended 0.2% lower while in the Hang Seng index ended higher by 0.2% and Shanghai Composite index fell 1..3%. European shares hit a 14-year high ahead of the European Central Bank's meet.

The Bank is expected to keep rates unchanged.

FTSE 100 has gained 0.3% while CAC 40 and DAX indices have gained around 0.6% and 0.4% each.