Realty, IT, FMCG drag Nifty below 5400

The benchmark Sensex shed over 200 points in trade today despite quiet global cues at 14 hours. Technology, telecom, private banking, power, FMCG, auto (barring Tata Motors), healthcare and metal (except Tata Steel) dragged the Nifty below 5500 level.

The profit booking was pulling the markets lower as the Sensex rallied more than 400 points in previous two sessions. Market analyst, Sangeeta Purushottam said we could just remain in a range somewhere between 5000-5500-5600 levels for a few months. "We also have a time correction which begins to come in. We are going to see real recovery in the market only in the second half of the year, maybe, towards the end of the year," she said.

Heavyweight Reliance Industries tumbled 2% followed by TCS, NTPC, Infosys, ITC, L&T and ICICI Bank with loss of 2-3%. Among other largecaps, HDFC, Bharti and Wipro were down over 1%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 209 points to 18,240 and the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 62 points to 5,464. The Nifty February futures were in discount.

However, indices were witnessing some recovery as traders were buying at lower levels. Heavyweights ONGC SBI and BHEL too were quite supportive. Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Reliance Power and Suzlon Energy were other gainers.

Tata Power, M&M, Kotak Mahindra Bank and NTPC were top losers with 2.5-3.5% loss.

In midcap space, Jain Irrigation, S Kumars Nationwide, Blue Star, Chambal Fertiliser and Rashtriya Chemical rallied 3-9% while SpiceJet, Nava Bharat Ventures, IVRCL Infrastructure, Man Infra and Money Matters slipped 4-10%.

In smallcap space, Brigade Enterprises, Manaksia and Zandu Realty shot up 15-17%. RSWM and Seshasayee Paper were up 8-10%.

However, Allied Digital plunged 20% as Income Tax department raided on company premises. Graviss Hosp, Jupiter Bioscience, Kabra Extrusion and Asian Star were down 7-13%.

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Sensex nosedives; all sectoral indices in red

Equity benchmarks shaved off more than half of yesterday's gain at 12:31 hours - the Sensex shed more than 200 points while the Nifty erased more than 100 points from day's high today. It seems that traders were using sell on rally strategy because the Sensex added over 400 points in previous two sessions.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, President, Destimoney Securities is not so optimistic. According to him, the markets are unlike to go below 5400 or above 5700 in a hurry.

All sectoral indices were in red. Sectors, which rallied strong yesterday, were under pressure. The BSE Realty Index fell 2%. FMCG, IT, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, Bank, Auto and Power indices slipped 1-1.7%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 268 points to 18,181 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 80 points to 5,446. Nifty February 5500 put added 1.53 lakh shares in open interest to 68 lakh shares and Nifty February 5300 put added 5 lakh shares to 54 lakh shares.

About 40 shares advanced as against 10 shares declined on NSE Nifty while 25 shares gained as against five shares fell on BSE Sensex. Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Reliance Power, Suzlon and BHEL were few gainers.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries, L&T, ICICI Bank, ITC, NTPC and TCS plunged 2-2.5%.

M&M, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Power and HCL Tech fell 2-3.5%. Infosys, Bharti, Wipro, Axis Bank, HDFC, SAIL, HUL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Maruti and DLF were down 1-2%.

In midcap space, Jain Irrigation, Blue Star, S Kumars Nationwide, MindTree and Chambal Fertiliser gained 3-8% while SpiceJet, IVRCL Infrastructure, Nava Bharat, Voltas and Man Infra lost 5-8%.

In smallcap space, Zandu Realty, Manaksia, Brigade Enterprises, RSWM and Vindhya Telelink went up 6-15%. However, Allied Digital plunged 20%. Graviss Hosp, Kabra Extrusion, EIH Associated Hotel and Genesys Intl slipped 6-13%.

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Nifty slips below 5500; RIL, TCS, NTPC, ITC, L&T dip

The benchmark Nifty slipped below the 5500 level amid extreme volatility at 11:35 hours, pulled down by profit booking after a sharp spike up yesterday. Heavyweights like Reliance Industries, TCS, NTPC, ITC, L&T, HUL, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, DLF and Wipro were taking huge beating with 1-2% fall.

Further losses look likely, says Laurence Balanco of CLSA. "The Nifty has tagged the 5300-5500 support zone that we have been citing, but with no sign of bullish price momentum divergence.

However, indices were getting some support from Tata Steel, Tata Motors, SBI, Sun Pharma, ONGC and ACC. Reliance Power and Suzlon Energy were top gainers on Nifty with 2% gain.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,315, down 134 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty was at 5,490, down 36 points. The broader indices too erased their gains.

In midcap space, Jain Irrigation, S Kumars Nation, Gujarat Flourochem, Havells India and Blue Star gained 4-9%.

However, Man Infra, Gammon India, Whirlpool, IVRCL Infrastructure and Money Matters fell 3-5%.

In smallcap space, Manaksia shot up 20%. Brigade Enterprises, Zandu Realty, RSWM and Zenith Infotech were up 8-15%.

However, Allied Digital plunged 20% as IT department has raided its office premises.

Kabra Extrusion, PI Industries, Asian Star and Atco Corp slipped 6-10%.

Nifty tests 5550 amid choppy trade; ONGC, SBI gain

Indian equities bounced back after a marginal cut seen in initial trade at 10:45 hours, supported by financial, metal, auto, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and healthcare companies' shares. Heavyweights ONGC and BHEL too added more gains, which helped the Nifty to touch 5550 level.

Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley feels that FIIs ownership is now back to the 2009 levels. "We believe valuations are more appealing now. Although fundamentals are shaky, we think that this is now being factored into the price. Consequently we have upgrade financials to neutral. We are funding this by cutting our position in consumer staples by 100 bps."

Roopesh Patel of HSBC Securities and Capital Markets too said,