The markets ended the day on a flat note amid a choppy and a rangebound session on the F&O expiry day. The broader markets were relative outperformers. The cues were not very encouraging as most of the indices closed in red with moderate losses.

FMCG, metal, realty stocks outperformed. Realty sector was up nearly 3% followed by metal and FMCG . But selling pressure is seen in bank, power, IT stocks.

But the markets in March series have seen steep fall; with Nifty down 8.4%. SBI, Tata Steel among the top losers.

Sensex closed down 71.27 points or 0.44% at 16015.56, and the Nifty up 1.40 points or 0.03% at 4830.25.

About 1607 shares have advanced, 1383 shares declined, and 72 shares are unchanged.

The BSE Midcap Index ended flat at 6,276.26.

The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 7,526.78 up 1.2%.

The BSE Bankex closed at 8,176.66 down 1.5%. IOB, ICICI Bank, Centurion bank, Axis closed in red.

The BSE Capital Goods Index closed at 13,714.74 down 0.6%. L&T, BHEL, Suzlon, Reliance Infra, Siemens, Triveni Engineering closed lower.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 4,532.68 down 1.2%. Apollo Tyres, Escorts, Ashok Leyland, Hind Motors closed higher.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 13,853.98 up 0.8%. SAIL, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, Jindal Stainless, Hind Zinc closed higher.

The BSE FMCG Index closed up 2% at 2,280.38. HUL, Colgate, ITC, Nestle, Dabur ended higher

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 9,717.56 down 0.6%.  BPCL, HPCL, IOC, Reliance Natura, GAIL ended lower.

The BSE IT Index was at 3,579.75 down 3%. HCL, Infosys, Tech mahindra, TCS, Tech Mahindra closed lower.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 15408.98 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 64308.86 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 6360.72 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 86078.56 crore. 

Mkts choppy: Midcaps, metal, realty outperform

The markets are witnessing volatile trade and have slipped again on the F&) expiry day. The benchmark indices are trading flat but the broader markets have outperformed the markets. Most of the Asia ended down with moderate losses. The breadth is in favour of the advances.

All the BSE sector indices are trading in green. FMCG, metal, realty stocks have outperformed. Realty sector is up 3% followed by metal and FMCG up over 1.5%. But selling pressure is seen in bank, power, IT stocks.

At 2.35 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 13.18 points or 0.08% at 16100.01, and the Nifty up 30.75 points or 0.64% at 4859.60.

About 1745 shares have advanced, 1239 shares declined, and 77 shares are unchanged.

Select midcap IT  and real estate stocks have pulled up today and are trading in green.

Hindalco, JP Associates, BHEL, Unitech, DLF, Cipla, ONGC, Nalco, Cairn, HUL, ITC, HUL and  Ambuja Cement were among the top gainers on the indices.

Satyam, Infosys, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Energy, Infosys, L&T, Suzlon, ICICI Bank, Hero Honda, TCS were among the top laggards. Tata Motors, Reliance are also in red.

Mkts trade flat: Auto, IT down; metal, FMCG up

The markets are trading flat on the last day of the F&O expiry day. Nifty is circling above the 4800 levels and Sensex is trading around the 16,000 level. Global markets are stable; most of the Asia is trading down with some losses. The midcap index is flat and smallcap is in the positive terrain. The breadth is marginally in favour of the declines.

Mkts trading in red: IT, auto down; metal, FMCG up

The markets are trading in red with mild losses on the last day of the F&O expiry day. Nifty is circling around the 4800 levels and Sensex is trading just below the 16,000 level. Global markets are stable; most of the Asia is trading down with some losses. Both the midcap and smallcap indices are in the negative terrain. The breadth is in the favour of the declines.

At 12.31 pm, the Sensex was down 188.41 points or 1.17% at 15898.42, and the Nifty was down 37.85 points or 0.78% at 4791.00.

About 1446 shares have advanced, 1538 shares declined, and 76 shares are unchanged.

Metal, FMCG and realty stocks are witnessing buying interest but selling pressure is seen in bank, power, IT stocks.

Mkts trade weak: Bank, IT, auto down; realty up

The markets are trading weak with stable losses on the last day of the F&O expiry day. Nifty is circling around the 4800 levels and Sensex is trading just below the 16,000 level. Global markets are stable; most of the Asia is trading down with some losses. Both the midcap and smallcap indices are in the negative terrain. The breadth is in the favour of the declines.

Realty, FMCG indices are trading in green; but selling is seen in bank, power, IT stocks.

Hindalco, Cipla, ONGC, Nalco, Cairn, HUL, ITC, HUL, Ambuja Cement were among the top gainers on the indices.

The markets opened weak and bounced back immediately to trade with mild losses. Nifty is trading just above 4800 mark and Sensex is hovering around 16,000 mark. Global markets are stable; most of the Asia is trading down with some losses. Both the midcap and smallcap indices are in the negative terrain. The breadth is in the favour of the declines.

HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Energy, JP Associates, Infosys, L&T, Suzlon, ICICI Bank, Hero Honda, TCS were among the top laggards. Tata Motors, Reliance are also in red.

ONGC, Nalco, Cairn, HUL, ITC, HUL, Ambuja Cement were among the top gainers on the indices.

Asian markets were trading weak. Japan's Nikkei slipped 1.78% or 225.65 points at 12,480.98. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.36% or 307.10 points at 22,309.91. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted declined 1.94% or 170.24 points at 8,597.78. Singapore's Straits Times plunged 1.07% or 31.92 points at 2,963.30. South Korea's Seoul Composite was down 1.11% or 18.60 points at 1,661.07.

US markets ended lower with the Dow clocking triple digit losses. Corporate news and poor economic data led to the downfall. US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson said that there is a need to strengthen & clarify rules governing the financial sector.

• NSE F&O March series expiry today
• FIIs net buy $333.5 m in equity
• MFs net buy Rs 534.5 cr in equity
• NSE F&O Open Interest up by Rs 1,339 crore at Rs 67,844 crore

F&O cues:

• Marketwide rollover at 58% Vs 68% seen on penultimate day of last expiry
• Nifty rollover at 52% Vs 69% seen on penultimate day of last expiry
• Futures Open Interest up Rs 290 cr
• Options Open Interest up Rs 1,049 cr
• Nifty Mar Futures shed 41 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Apr Futures add 48 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Mar at 12-point premium, Apr at 24-point premium
• Nifty Open Interest Put-Call ratio at 0.95 Vs 0.97
• Nifty Puts add 7.5 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Calls add 12.3 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Mar 4800 Put adds 1.8 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Apr 4800 Put adds 1.6 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Mar 4900 Call adds 4.3 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Mar 4800 Call adds 4.1 lakh shares in Open Interest
• Nifty Mar 4600 Call sheds 3.5 lakh shares in Open Interest