BUSINESS NEWS:Lacklustre Nifty ends below 5250

MUMBAI: Equities ended a choppy session in the red Friday, as market lacked triggers for direction. While frontline stocks remained laggards,
traders showed interest in midcap and smallcap space. But they, too, pared gains towards close of session.

Market opened in the green but failed to build on to it due to lack of support from the Asian markets. Investors chose to stay on sidelines ahead of the results season that kick-starts on Tuesday with third-quarter earnings from Infosys Technologies.

Benchmarks continued to move in a narrow range with stock specific action seen across the board. Analysts are of the view that the indices are likely to consolidate at current levels before gearing up for next move.

“In view of flat global markets and dull movement for the last couple of days, only a range breakout on either side may give further direction to the market. If Nifty sustains below 5230 then selling pressure may intensify and we may test 5180-5150.

Medium term market trend looks positive till the time Nifty manages to sustain above 5150 levels. On the upside if it sustains above 5300 then the Nifty may move up towards 5380-5400 in coming days,” said Chandan Taparia, derivatives & technical analyst, Anand Rathi Securities.

Sectorally, power and capital goods stocks fared well on reports that the government may allow only Indian manufacturers to supply power equipments for Ultra Mega Power Projects.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 5244.75, down 18.35 points or 0.35 per cent. The index touched a high of 5276.75 and low of 5251.30.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 17540.29, down 74.43 points or 0.43 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 17658.12 and low of 17508.96.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.02 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.44 per cent higher.

BSE Realty Index was up 3.23 per cent, BSE Power Index gained 0.59 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index was up 0.59 per cent. BSE IT Index was down 1.98 per cent and BSE Metal Index declined 0.73 per cent.

TCS (-2.51%), Infosys Technologies (-2.38%), HCL Tech (-2.35%), Wipro (-1.75%) and HDFC (-1.74%) led the decline.

DLF (4.79%), Grasim (3.01%), Unitech (2.91%), Reliance Capital (2.50%) and Jaiprakash Associates (2.33%) resisted the fall.

Market breadth was positive on the Nifty with 26 advances and 24 declines.