Expiry jitters

Global signals

European equities were up 1.3% in morning trade on Thursday, recovering from a one-week slide after the US President Barack Obama moderated his tone on bank restrictions in his State of the Union speech.

All the major Asian indices closed higher on good earning numbers. SGX Nifty gained 32 points.

US stock index futures added gains in late after-hours trading on Wednesday, as investors took President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech as toning down some of the rhetoric that unnerved investors last week when he unveiled new restrictions on US banks.

Indian indices

Despite Asian indices closing in green, the Indian stock market seemed to have lost steam after opening strong. The Sensex opened 17 points higher at 16317 and touched the day's high of 16525 (around 208 points higher) within one hour of trading on brisk buying in heavyweights. However, it shed its early gains on heavy selling in capital goods (CG), fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), Teck and consumer durable (CD) stocks and entered negative territory by afternoon. The Sensex swung between negative and positive thereafter, as investors turned cautious due to lack of clarity. The Sensex tumbled below 16200-mark towards afternoon session to touch the intra-day low of 16182 amid relentless selling pressure, but buying at lower levels helped it pare some losses. The Sensex finally closed at 16290, up 17 points, while Nifty ended 14 points up at 4867.

Sensex sentiment

The market breadth was weak, as losers outpaced gainers. Of the 2,902 stocks trading on the BSE, 1,725 stocks decline, whereas 1,126 stocks advanced. Fifty one stocks ended unchanged.

Sectoral & stock screening

January F&O contract expiry jitters kept sectors either marginally up or slightly down. Realty, healthcare and metal indices were up by more than 1%. Capital goods, Teck and FMCG sector indices were tad negative. The remaining indices were slightly up for the day.

Most of the index heavyweights witnessed correction. Among the Sensex majors, Bharti Airtel tumbled 2.39% to Rs314.05, Reliance Communications dropped 2.03% to Rs171.35, Larsen & Toubro lost 1.97% to Rs1431.20, JP Associates slumped 1.67% to Rs135.25, Hindustan Unilever slipped 1.48% to Rs255.45, ACC shed 1.42% at Rs868.55, Sterlite Industries lost 0.86% at Rs763.40, ONGC, Hero Honda, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharat Heavy Electricals lost around 0.50% each. However, select counters saw some buying and ended with gains. Tata Steel advanced 4.81% to Rs585.55 while Wipro, DLF, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, HDFC, Grasim Industries, Maruti Suzuki India and Reliance Industries ended with gains of 1-2% each.

Viewing volumes

Unitech saw highest trading with over 0.84 crore shares changing hands on the BSE to be followed by Ispat Industries (0.84 crore shares), Suzlon Energy (0.70 crore shares), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (0.65 crore shares) and IFCI (0.44 crore shares).