By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets that opened in the green Tuesday morning remained choppy in the second half and slid to close in the red, with a benchmark index shedding over 300 points from the day’s high.
The stock markets started the day on a positive note following international cues but failed to sustain the momentum with heavy selling pressures in oil & gas, IT, technology, automobiles and capital goods scrips.
The 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,008.03 points and notched a high of 17,085.63 before closing at 16,752.86 points. It lost 108.04 points or 0.64 percent at the day’s close.
The S&P CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened at 5,008.60 points, closed below the 5,000-mark at 4,957.80 points, Monday’s closing figure, after touching the day’s high at 5,066.00 points.
At close, it registered a loss of 54.85 points or 1.09 percent.
The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 6,956.81 points, remained in the green, gaining 10.90 points or 0.16 percent.
Similarly, the BSE Smallcap index, which closed at 8,397.71 points, went down 5.85 points or 0.07 percent.
On BSE, the market breadth was mixed marked by low trading volumes. A total of 1,410 shares advanced, 1,304 shares declined and 70 shares remained unchanged.
The Asian markets were mixed with FTSE and CAC closing in the red Tuesday.
The top gainers of the day included Hindalco at Rs.179.95, up 2.83 percent; Jaiprakash Associates at Rs.253.25, up 2.78 percent; Reliance Infrastructure at Rs.1,381.25, up 1.78 percent; and Satyam at Rs.495.95, up 1.31 percent.
The top losers included ONGC at Rs.997.10, down 3.08 percent; Wipro at Rs.494.20, down 2.66 percent; ACC at Rs.683.00, down 2.66 percent; and TCS at Rs.905.70, down 2.33 percent.