Sensex drifts lower...Nifty holds 5500

The Sensex slipped 98 points to close at 18,312, the index hit an intra-day high of 18,452 and an intra-day low of 18,261. While, NSE Nifty lost 40 points to close at 5,503.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE Realty index was the top loser, the index lost 2.7% followed by BSE Metal index down 2% and BSE Power index down 0.8%. Even the BSE Mid-Cap and the Small-Cap index ended lower by 0.7% each. Among the major gainers were, BSE FMCG index up 0.4% and BSE Consumer Durables index up 0.3%.



Markets in Asia ended in the red; the Nikkei in Japan slipped 1.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX ended lower by 1% and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong slipped by 1.1%. However, the Shanghai SE Composite edged higher by 0.4%.

The European indices were trading in the negative terrain, the DAX in Germany edged lower by 0.2%, the CAC 40 index in France was down 1.1% and the FTSE in the UK was down 1.1%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big losers in the broader market were Jai Corp, Central Bank, Ispat Industries, Jet Airways and TTML. On the other hand, gainers included PTC, Opto Circuit, Piramal Health and Castrol.