Disappointing close for Sensex, Nifty; TCS outperforms

In the absence of positive global cues, poor third quarter earnings and slowdown in the economy, equity market saw a disappointing close on the last trading day. BSE benchmark Sensex ended 95 points down at 19484.77 and NSE Nifty lost 35.30 points to close at 5903.50.  Nifty even went below 5900 intra-day, triggering Puts at the lower levels. For the week, the benchmarks lost nearly 1.5 percent each, while midcaps bled with 3 percent cut.

Tech stocks held steady throughout the week with TCS closing up 2.58 percent on Friday. Wipro closed with 1.57 percent gains and Hexaware made smart gains. Other winners include HDFC Bank, BHEL and Larsen, all of which moved up around 1 percent.

The cement duo — ACC and Ambuja Cements — performed miserably on the bourses, they lost 5.2 percent and 3.02 percent respectively. Hindaclo was a big loser; the stock wiped out 3.18 percent to trade  at Rs 109.75 after it announced a ho-hum quartely numbers. Sterlite and Sesa lost 3 percent and 2.5 percent each. Despite good numbers, first by Sun Pharma and later by Mahindra and Mahindra, the mood in the market could not be reversed. Both ended in the red.

In the midcap space, Jet Airways moved up 1.46 percent as Etihad completed due diligence. Other gainers include Essar Oil, Strides Arcolab and Bajaj Electric. On the losing side, Jain Irrigation and Manappuram finance stand as biggest losers of the week. Srei Infra lost a lot of ground on news that the company has sold its KFA loan to Diageo.