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The 30-share Sensex lost 31 points to end at 26,745 and the 50-share Nifty shed 15 points to close at 8,002.
Market ended flat on Wednesday, amid a choppy trading session, as investors turned cautious ahead of the expiry of September derivative contracts while the Supreme Court's decision on coal blocks weighed on select metal and power stocks.
The 30-share Sensex lost 31 points to end at 26,745 and the 50-share Nifty shed 15 points to close at 8,002.
The criterion fits just four of the 218 blocks that were deemed illegal by the court in its August order.
Media reports said exempted coal blocks included allocations to NTPC, SAIL and Sasan UMPP.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also asked holders of 46 operational blocks to file reply within a period of six months.
However, the selling pressure was persistent in the broader markets. The mid and smallcap index slipped nearly 1% and 1.6% each putting lid to an outperformance seen over the last few weeks.
The market breadth ended weak on the BSE with 1,939 shared declining and 1,023 shares advancing.
On the domestic front, India's maiden low-cost mission to Mars successfully entered the red planet's orbit on Wednesday and was achieved on a budget of $74 million.
Global Markets: U.S. air strikes in Syria left Asian stock markets jaded on Wednesday, setting the stage for another soft session for European shares. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS initially fell to a four-month low after Wall Street's overnight slide, but managed to steady thanks to gains in Chinese shares.
Nikkei ended down 0.3% and Straits Times closed 0.2% lower. However, Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng gained 1% and 0.4% each.
The dollar was kept in check after U.S. yields fell on geopolitical concerns and dovish statements by a Federal Reserve official.
European equities started the trading session on a lower note, London's FTSE is down 0.2%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAX have lost 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.
Rupee: The rupee is trading at 60.94/61.00 as traders say demand from oil firms is limiting the rupee's rise.
Sectors & Stocks: On the sectoral front, BSE Realty and Capital Goods indices were the top losers down nearly 2.5% followed by Consumer Durables, Power and Auto indices trading lower between 0.5-1%.
Bankex lost over 1%. However, BSE FMCG index gained nearly 2% and Healthcare index gained 0.5%. Engineering conglomerate L&T and BHEL lost between 1.5-2.5% on worries that order inflows from power generators could get delayed after the Supreme Court verdict on coal block allocations.
Power and Metal stocks ended lower after the Supreme Court today cancelled all coal block allocations except government-run blocks that operate on a non-JV basis.
Jindal Steel and Power was the top loser down 10% followed by Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Power which ended down between 0.5-3% each.
The financial segment witnessed pressure after a private poll suggested that the RBI is likely to hold rates at least until the end of the current financial year.
ICICI Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank and SBI ended down between 1-3% Auto major Tata Motors witnessed profit taking and ended down nearly 1% erasing all the previous session gains even as analysts remain bullish on the stock. Following the tandem, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto dipped between 1-2%.owever, Mahindra & Mahindra which lost yesterday after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "outperform" saying the company's valuations are no longer "attractive" was up 0.7% on value buying.
Oil and Gas major RIL edged down on uncertainty over gas pricing issue. TCS, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were some of the prominent names in red.
On the flip side, IT exporters, which witnessed profit taking yesterday after weaker than expected housing data raised worries over growth in the US economy, bounced back in today’s trade.
Infosys and Wipro gained between 1-2%. Shares of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies ended higher by up to 3% on the bourses.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ITC, Dabur India, Nestle India, Godrej Consumer Products, Britannia Industries and Colgate-Palmolive (India) surged between 1-3% on BSE. Also, fresh buying was evident in Coal India which was the top gainer of the day.
The stocks ended the session 1-5% higher after the Supreme Court cancelled all coal block allocations except government-run blocks that operate on a non-JV basis.
Cipla and Dr Reddy’s Lab gained between 1-3% after the government withdrew the drug pricing authority's powers that allowed it to fix the prices of medicines not deemed essential.
Among other shares, shares of Sasken Communication Technologies ended 18% lower at Rs 259 on National Stock Exchange after the company said Mr. Anjan Lahiri, whole time director & chief executive officer (CEO) has resigned from the services of the company and consequently from the board of directors effective September 23, 2014.
Oracle Financial Services Software plunged nearly 13% to Rs 3,453 on the BSE on turning ex-dividend today, 24 September 2014, for an interim dividend of Rs 485 per share for the year ending 31 March 2015.
