Markets slump: Sensex trips 115 pts

New Delhi: The markets ended lower on huge profit booking in technology and banking stocks. The Sensex ended down 115 points. The BSE IT and Bankex ended down 2.29 per cent each. Pharma and auto also closed lower.

The markets ended lower on huge profit booking in technology and banking stocks. The Sensex ended at 11,915.24, down 115.06 points or 0.96 per cent. It touched an intraday high of 12,071.07 and an intraday low of 11,882.48.

The Nifty closed at 3548.90, down 24.15 points at 0.68 per cent. It touched an intraday high of 3585.35 and an intraday low of 3536.30.

However, the CNX Midcap ended at 4994.90, up 22.25 points or 0.45 per cent. It touched an intraday high of 5016.75 and an intraday low of 4970.

The BSE Small Cap Index closed up 91.05 points or 1.30 per cent at 7,089.56. The BSE Midcap Index closed at 5,672.78, up 45.49 points or 0.81 per cent.

The market breadth was positive, about 1408 shares advanced, 1036 shares declined, and 64 shares remained unchanged.

The total market turnover recorded at Rs 55543.81 crore. The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 10139.15. The BSE cash turnover was at Rs 4738.54 crore.

The NSE F&O turnover traded at Rs 40666.12 crore. The marketwide rollover was at 30 per cent and Nifty rollover at 26 per cent. The Nifty April Futures ended at marginal premium and May Futures at discount of 5 points. Reliance, Tata Steel, Sun TV, Satyam, Reliance Capital and MTNL were the top traders.

Experts believe that the India story is a liquidity-driven one and therefore they are cautious on it. In their view, India in comparison to other Asia-Pacific markets should be an under performer.

Satyam, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Infosys and Sun Pharma were the biggest losers on the indices.

Top gainers were L&T, ITC, ONGC, Hindalco, Reliance, Dabur India, Zee Tele, BPCL and MTNL.

The BSE IT Index closed at 4,088.27, down 2.29 per cent as selling was seen in Satyam, i-flex Solutions, Infosys, Wipro, Patni Computer and TCS.

Banking stocks like ICICI Bank, Andhra Bank, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC Bank, IOB, Oriental Bank and PNB also lost ground. The BSE Bankex closed down 2.29 per cent or 121.25 points at 5,167.75.

Pharma stocks including Wockhardt, Wyeth, GSK Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Ranbaxy Labs, Sterling Biotech, Novartis India, Biocon, Cipla also plummeted. The BSE Healthcare Index ended down 0.81 per cent at 3,924.51.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,483.56, down 0.52 per cent due to losses in Tata Motors, Exide Industries, Sundaram-Clayton, MRF, Bajaj Auto, Asahi India, M&M, Apollo Tyres.

However, FMCG stocks like Shaw Wallace, Dabur India, Colgate, ITC and Nestle spurted up. The BSE FMCG Index closed up 0.93 per cent at 2,284.80.

Oil stocks including BPCL, ONGC, MRPL, Reliance, Petronet LNG and Chennai Petro also surged on buying interest. The BSE Oil & Gas Index ended at 5,588.79, up 0.81 per cent.

The BSE Consumer Durables Index closed at 3,419.21, up 0.71 per cent amid buying in Whirlpool, Samtel Color, BPL, Su-Raj Diamonds and Blue Star.

Capital goods stocks like HEG, Aban LoydChiles, L&T, Alstom Projects, Ingersoll Rand, Thermax and Dredging Corporation also moved up. The BSE Capital Goods Index closed at 8,746.82, up 0.38 per cent.

Metal stocks including Hind Zinc, Sterlite Ind, Welspun Gujarat and Jindal Saw also ended in green. The BSE Metal Index closed up 0.34 per cent at 10,378.79.