Sensex, Nifty close in red despite IIP surprise; autos zoom

Moneycontrol Bureau

Key equity benchmarks ended trade directionless on Wednesday, despite a better-than-expected October IIP number. The Sensex closed the session down 31.88 points or 0.16 percent at 19355.26, while the Nifty ended 18.00 points or 0.31 percent down at 5880.80.

Aided by smart recovery in manufacturing growth, factory output grew 8.2 percent in October compared with the 5 percent contraction recorded in the same month last year. Analysts polled by CNBC-TV18 had expected a rise of 4.5 percent in October output. (More on IIP)

Mahindra and Mahindra was the top gainer on the Nifty today, after reports suggested that the auto major is looking to raise vehicle prices by over a percent. Bank of America Merril Lynch has raised its target on the stock to Rs 1,035, foreseeing a trend reversal in the tractor segment. Autos overall as a sector did well; Bajaj Auto up 2.57 percent and Hero Motocorp up 1.92 percent.

Shares Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways closed the session up close to 5 percent after CNBC-TV18 reported that Etihad executives are scheduled to meet Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines top officials. Sources told the channel that Etihad's senior executives have been favouring Jet, but decision in this regard is not yet finalised.

Other major gainers of the day were Reliance (up 1.53 percent) and Sun Pharma (up 1.35 percent).

Among the top losers of the day, HUL lost nearly over 2.5 percent after Unilever Indonesia announced the change in the rate of royalty to be paid to its parent company, Unilever. HUL currently pays a royalty of around a percent, which is a significantly lower than the 3.5-6 percent most other MNC subsidiaries pay to the parent company.

Other losers include the likes of BHEL (down 2.04 percent), GAIL (down 2.01 percent). Grasim (down 1.76 percent) and HDFC (down 1.74 percent).

But the big story of the day was that finally there seems to be some breakthrough in the banking bill logjam. Finance minister P Chidamabram told reporters today that the government and the opposition have reached an agreement on passing the bill in parliament. BJP sources too indicated the same.(Read full report)