Nifty below 5350 amid volatility; oil & gas outperforms

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The Nifty dropped below the 5350 level following fall in European markets. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE lost 0.4-0.8%. Capital goods, metals stocks, and heavyweights like Infosys and SBI weighed down the market. The BSE benchmark was down 82 points at 17,625 and the NSE benchmark fell 26 points to 5,335.35 amid choppy trade.

Shares of Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, M&M and BHEL tanked 3-3.6%. L&T, Infosys, HDFC, HUL, Sterlite, Jindal Steel, Hindalco and NTPC were down 1-2%.

Among banks, shares of country's largest lender SBI too was under pressure, falling 0.7% while private banks outperformed. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up 0.5%.

However, Reliance Industries, ONGC and ITC were playing a positive role, rising more than a percent. TCS too gained 0.8%.

The market breadth remained in favour of declines; about 1087 shares advanced while 1728 shares declined on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Jet Airways, Pantaloon Retail, TTK Prestige, Central Bank and Jagran Prakashan rallied 6-14% whereas Manappuram Finance was locked at 20% lower circuit. India Infoline, Zydus Wellness, Sterlite Tech and Indian Hotels slipped 6-9%.

At 14:18 hours IST : Sensex flat amid seesaw trade; capital goods, Bharti down

The market continued to hover around its previous closing value due to lack of global cues. Though Greece debt deal has not happened yet, global markets were mixed. The Sensex was down 55.4 points at 17,651.91 and the Nifty fell 14.35 points to 5,347.30.

Capital goods majors L&T and BHEL were down 1.4% & 2.6%, respectively. Shares of Bharti, Tata Steel and GAIL fell over 2%.

Major largecaps like Infosys and HDFC dropped 0.6%. HUL, M&M, Sun Pharma, Sterlite, NTPC and DLF slipped over 1%.

However, Reliance Industries retained its top position in the buying list, rising 1.5%. ICICI Bank and ITC rose 1% each. HDFC Bank, TCS, ONGC, JSPL, Wipro and Hero Motocorp gained 0.5-0.9%.

Even the market breadth was negative; about 1204 shares advanced while 1557 shares declined on the BSE.

Airline stocks spiked after EGOM approved direct import of aviation turbine fuel by airline companies. Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet surged 12-14%.

Arjuna Mahendran, managing director and head of investment strategy (Asia) at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) says that he is not too worried about the Greek situation at the moment. He says that liquidity into emerging markets will continue driving equities. European markets were flat.

He expects returns from EMs, including India, to the tune of another 10-15%.