Markets end in red on Sep F&O expiry day

The key benchmark indices closed the September series in the red zone with the Sensex slipping 53 points while the Nifty lost 14 points in trade today. Major Headlines of the day: Promoters hike stake in Max India UB Group extends rally on stake sale talks to Diageo Lupin, Ultratech to take place of SAIL, Sterlite on NSE Tata Power surges as CERC set for final hearing on tariff hike Domestic pharmaceuticals market up 16.9% during August Indian Indices: The key benchmark indices closed today's trading session in the negative zone backed by weak domestic and European markets. The Indian equity benchmarks wiped out all of its morning gains and closed the session with marginal losses. The downtrend continued for the second consecutive day to close the session in the red zone on September F&O expiry day. The losses were also added by fall in index heavyweights like RIL, Infosys, ONGC, Sterlite, Hero Motocorp and BHEL. Movement of the Indian indices for the day: The Indian shares fell on Wednesday (September 27, 2012) in a session marked by volatility due to the expiry of September futures and options contracts, led by a fall in technology stocks such as Infosys on worries about demand outlook and the recent rally in the rupee. The key Indian stock indices slipped in the late afternoon session as the traders adjusted their outstanding positions in the F&O segment before the expiry of current-month's contracts. Earlier, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty had managed to hold on to modest gains despite weakness in the US and European markets. Both the main indices traded near their session lows even as the broader indices managed to hold on to slender gains. The upmove in ITC, L&T and SBI counterbalanced the weakness in oil & gas, technology and private banking stocks. The selling pressure in majority of the sectors and profit booking in index heavyweights dampened the market sentiments. The market breadth stood positive despite of posting losses. The Sensex shed 52.67 points to close at 18,579.50 while Nifty slipped 13.95 points to settle at 5,649.50 Following are the stocks/ sectors which were in news today: 1. Shares of Vijay Mallya promoted companies extended their rally and ended more than 4% after United Spirits said that it has resumed talks with British drinks giant Diageo for a possible stake sale. At the end of day, United Breweries (Holdings) was up by 1.85%, United Breweries rose 0.81%, Kingfisher Airlines jumped 8.03% and United Spirits gained 10.31%. 2. Max India surged after Dynavest India, one of the promoter group firms, acquired around 2% stake of the company for Rs100 crore through open market transactions. At end of the day, stock closed 4.50% higher. 3. Shares of cement maker mainly mid-and-small sized companies rallied on expectations that demand would revive as the monsoon season comes to an end. 4. The shares of fertiliser companies were in limelight on the bourses that the Finance Ministry has asked the Fertiliser Ministry to accelerate the proposal to raise urea prices to reduce subsidy burden. 5. Man Industries (India) hit 5% upper circuit, also its lifetime high after the promoters raised their holdings in the company through open market purchase. Market sentiment: The market breadth stood in favor of advances. Of the 2988 stocks traded on the BSE, 1516 (50.74%) rose, 1336 (44.71%) fell and 136 (4.55%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening: Among the 13 sectoral indices, five sectors closed in the green zone while remaining eight sectors closed in the red zone. Top Gainers: BSE FMCG rose by 1.51%, BSE CD surged by 1.36%, BSE CG gained 0.91%. Top Losers: BSE Oil&Gas fell by 1.60%, BSE IT slipped by 1.10%, BSE TECk was down by 0.89%. Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- United Spirits rose by 10.31%, Rashtriya Chemicals up by 5.39% and Gujarat Gas surged by 4.89%. Top three losers were- Voltas declined by 5.76%, SAIL down by 3.48% and Crompton Greaves fell by 3.37%. Global signals: Asian stocks moved modestly higher on Thursday, underpinned by speculation that China's central bank will ease monetary policy next week when Chinese and Hong Kong markets are closed for an extended holiday. Japan's Nikkei average rose, rebounding from the previous session's sharp fall, as a surge in Chinese stocks lifted sentiment in the region, countering concerns over the euro zone crisis. A strong rally in China aided battered European shares on Thursday, though tensions over the euro zone and end-quarter window dressing were likely to make trade choppy. Equities reclaimed some of the previous day's sharp losses and the euro steadied, amid hopes that Spain's budget could nudge Madrid towards a rescue program and allow the ECB to launch into a new bond-buying plan. U.S. stock index futures appeared set for a higher opening at the Wall Street on Thursday. Market Outlook: Data to be released in the US on Thursday is: Durable Goods Orders, GDP, Jobless Claims and Pending Home Sales Index.