Nifty ends below 5300 ahead of F&O expiry; JP Asso down 9%

Indian equity benchmarks dropped for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday as hopes of new reforms by the government waned after the consistent parliament logjam by the opposition party BJP since the start of monsoon session.

The downtrend was despite the constant inflow of foreign money since July 27; they have bought more than Rs 9,000 crore worth of equity shares till yesterday.

The 50-share NSE Nifty closed below the 5300 level - for the first time in last three and half weeks - ahead of settlement day tomorrow. The index fell 46.80 points to close at 5,287.80. Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex lost 140.90 points to 17,490.81, weighed down by oil & gas, steel, capital goods, auto, IT and banks stocks.

Weak European cues too added fuel to the fire. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE declined more than 0.5% as traders looked nervous ahead of a meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.

Back home, Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com advised adding more short positions. According to him, the market is giving clear and simple directions towards the downside."

Companies, which are highly debt-laden and having huge FCCB exposure got slaughtered quite badly. Jaiprakash Associates crashed 9% as traders were worried about its net debt level, a day after the cement maker raised USD 150 million in foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs).

Realty major DLF, telecom operator Reliance Communications and educational software services provider Educomp Solutions were down 5-8%. Jain Irrigaiton was down 2%.

Metals stocks widened losses; SAIL and Sterlite Industries fell 5-6%. Sesa Goa was down 5.5% as The Times of India reported that the Goa state pollution control board (GSPCB) has directed Cosme Costa & Sons' Sonshi mine, which is operated by Sesa Goa, to stop dumping at sites located at Vaghuriem and Codierm villages of Sattari taluka.

Private steel major Tata Steel declined 1% and aluminium maker Hindalco Industries lost nearly 3% while Jindal Steel closed with 0.3% gains.

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto plunged 4% while its rival Hero Motocorp plummeted 3%. State-run oil & gas producer ONGC fell over 2% after research firms downgraded the stock due to CAG report.

Index heavyweights Infosys, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors were down 1-1.5%. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank slipped over 0.5%. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel tumbled 2.7%.

The BSE Midcap Index was down 0.5% and Smallcap fell 0.85%. About two shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, IVRCL, Lanco Infratech, HDIL, SKS Microfinance, Manappuram Finance, Pantaloon Retail and Mastek plunged 4-10%.

HCL Infosystems lost 10% after the company denied stake sale news. Wockhardt rebounded with 7% gains.

Standard Chartered moved up 5.6% after the SEBI allowed partial flexibility for IDR investors. Deccan Chronicle gained 5% for the third consecutive session.