Markets end flat amid volatility; Nifty reclaims 7,900

Markets nded flat, amid a volatile trading session, even as select metal stocks rebounded while power stocks extended losses after the apex court's verdict on coal block allocations.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 6 points at 26,443 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 2 points at 7,905.

The Indian rupee was trading at 60.52 per US dollar compared to the previous close of 60.56. Asian currencies were marginally up on hopes the the ECB would infuseo expand liquidity to boost the European economy.

Major Asian markets were trading lower with Chinese shares declining the most. Japanese shares which had rebounded yesterday failed to extend gains after investors booked profits as the weakening yen was seen stable against the dollar.

The Nikkei ended down 0.6%. Losses were led by exporters stocks such as SoftBank Corp and global car major Honda Motor Co. Shanghai COmposite ended down 1%, Hang Seng slipped 0.4% and Straits Times ended down 0.2%.

European shares were trading flat as investors booked profits at higher levels post the sharp gains seen on Monday on hopes of further monetary stimulus measures from the European Central Bank to boost the economy.

The FTSE-100 was up 0.2%, DAX fell 0.5% and the CAC-40 was trading flat with negative bias.

Capital Goods, Power, Oil and Gas indices were the top sectoral losers on the BSE which ended down 0.2-1.3% each along with Auto, Bankex and IT indices. However, FMCG and Healthcare indices ended up 0.9-1.1% each.

ONGC was the top Sensex loser which ended down 2.5% after the Government decided to divest 5% stake in the company via offer for sale (OFS) mechanism. The Government currently holds 69% stake in the company.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 0.7%.

In the capital goods segment, power equipment makers L&T ended down 1.3% on concerns that the recent apex court verdict would hamper fresh order inflows from power generators.

Banking stocks which have exposure to metal and power stocks also witnessed profit taking. SBI, ICICI Bank, and Punjab National Bank ended down 0.2-1% each.

Jindal Steel and Power was the top Nifty loser which ended down 6.5% after investors pressed sales on concerns that the profits from the existing operational Gare-Palma coal blocks and also the latest Utkal-B1 block for Angul Steel &

Power project would take a hit.

Thermal-based power companies continued to be impacted with the SC verdict on coal allocation. Tata Power ended down 2.8% and NTPC slipped 0.6%.

However, select metal shares rebounded on short covering after sharp losses in the previous session.

Tata Steel ended up 2.5% after analysts said that the company will not be impacted by the apex court verdict on coal block allocation. Hindalco gained 3.4%.

Auto shares declined after the Competition Commission of India slapped a penalty of Rs 2,545-crore penalty on automotive companies for alleged indulgence in unfair practices.

M&M, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors were down 0.1-1.3% each.

Honda Cars, Volkswagen, Fiat, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Hindustan Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan Motors, SkodaAuto, Toyota complete the list of 14 companies which have been penalised by the CCI.

Pharma shares ended higher on defensive buying and after analysts said that the Indian pharma market is likely to report a double-digit growth going ahead. Sun Pharma, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's Labs ended up 0.2-1.3% each.

In the FMCG space, ITC and Hindustan Unilever ended up 1% each.

TCS ended up 0.6% after it announced a tie-up with US-based Cloudera to offer big data and analytics services globally.

Among other shares, Muthoot Finance gained nearly 2% at Rs 193 after the company announced the acquisition of stake in Sri Lanka-based Asia Asset Finance PLC.

Havells India ended up after the stock turned ex-stock split today. The stock was split into five equity shares of face value Re 1 each from face value of Rs 5 earlier.

Jet Airways ended down 4%, extending its previous day’s 5% fall on BSE, after the credit rating agency ICRA has downgraded the company’s loan ratings from “”BB” to “D”.

Instruments with “D” rating are in default or are expected to be in default soon.

In the broader market, the BSE-Mid-cap and Small-cap indices ended down 0.2-0.8% each.

Market breadth was weak with 1,828 losers and 1,129 gainers on the BSE.