Sensex Ends Flat as Auto, Pharma Stocks Drag

Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex snapped its three-day winning run on Tuesday after slipping 12 points to end at 28,339 on sell-off in auto and pharma stocks amid muted global cues.

Trading sentiment was dampened by disappointing earnings by bluechips like Tata Motors and Sun Pharma. On the macro front, wholesale inflation in January accelerated to a 30-month high of 5.25 per cent on rising oil prices.

The 30-share Sensex, after opening up at 28,386.12, advanced to a high of 28,393.42, but late profit-booking pulled it down to 28,263.45. It finally ended at 28,339.31, showing a moderate loss of 12.31 points or 0.04 per cent. The gauge had gained 61.70 points in the previous three sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty too broke below the 8,800-mark by falling 12.75 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,792.30 after moving between 8,820.45 and 8,772.50.

Some strength in the rupee, which recovered to 66.91 (intra-day) against the dollar, helped in restricting losses. "Markets traded today with marginal losses amid volatility. Benchmark indices opened the day in the red and made a few attempts to cross above the flat line, but finally closed with marginal losses," said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

WPI inflation accelerated to a 30-month high of 5.25 per cent in January as rising global crude oil prices spiked domestic fuel cost, even as food prices moderated. However, January retail inflation, announced yesterday, fell to multi-year low of 3.17 per cent in January mainly on account of declining prices of food items including vegetables and pulses.

Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 scrips ended lower while the remaining 10 firmed up.

Auto index suffered the most by falling 1.09 per cent as Tata Motors slumped 3.68 per cent to Rs 486.80 after the company today reported a 96.22 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 111.57 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Hero MotoCorp too lost 2.02 per cent to Rs 3,161.15, Maruti Suzuki fell 1.37 per cent to Rs 5,940 and Bajaj Auto shed 1.34 per cent to Rs 2,768.75.

Foreign investors bought shares worth a net Rs 306.74 crore on Monday, as per provisional data. Globally, other Asian markets dipped after a three-day rally while European markets were mixed in their early session.

Investors were on a wait-and-watch mode ahead of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's address to the US Congress. Paris CAC rose 0.02 per cent, while London's FTSE fell 0.13 per cent and Germany's DAX shed 0.07 per cent.