Sensex closes flat ahead of parliament vote

Mumbai, Dec 3 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Monday ended flat, ahead of a vote in parliament on foreign equity in retail trade.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,342.83 points, ended at 19,305.32 points, down 34.58 points or 0.18 percent from its previous close at 19,339.90 points.

The index touched a high of 19,416.45 and a low of 19,257.30 points intra-day. However, the BSE midcap index was up 83.49 points, the smallcap index closed higher by 62.48 points.

The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was also down 8.90 points or 0.15 percent at 5,870.95 points.

The BSE banks index was lower by 56.46 points, followed by fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) index, down 20.52 points.

However, the metals index went up 82.70 points. And so were the consumer durables index, up 44.41 points, capital goods index, up 39.56 points, and oil and gas index, up 38.96 points.

Among the gainers were BHEL, up 1.59 percent at Rs.237.05; State Bank of India (SBI), up 1.53 percent at Rs.2,203.30; Tata Steel, up 1.36 percent at Rs.390.65; Reliance Industries, up 1.23 percent at Rs.803.70; and Mahindra and Mahindra, up 1.15 percent at Rs.955.70.

The major losers were HDFC Bank, 2.37 percent lower at Rs.687.00; Bharti Airtel, down 1.76 points at Rs.331.20; Gail India, down 1.06 percent at Rs.348.60; ONGC, down 0.89 percent at Rs.262.55; and NTPC, down 0.89 percent at Rs.160.65.

Among other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.13 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.19 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.03 percent.

All major European markets were trading flat. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.20 percent, while the German DAX was trading higher by 0.41 percent. The French CAC 40 index was also up 0.46 percent.

IANS 2012-12-03 16:52:44