ICICI Bank, SBI among major losers as Sensex, Nifty end on mixed note after choppy trade

Benchmark equity indices settled the intraday trade on a mixed note tracking fall in banking and IT stocks in Monday’s choppy session. The 30-share BSE index ended 17.14 points or 0.04 per cent lower at 41,558, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 10.05 points or 0.082 per cent to 12,255.85. Mahindra & Mahindra was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, followed by Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Nestle India Ltd and Tata Steel. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank HUL, SBI and TCS were also trading in the red.

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Earlier in the day, Prince Pipes and Fittings made a stock market debut December 30 with a 10 percent discount to issue price. The scrip opened at Rs 160 on the NSE and BSE as against final issue price of Rs 178 per share.

“We expect markets to remain range-bound this week due to lack of any major domestic as well global triggers. The market participants would keep a close watch on Auto sales data. Recently, Auto stocks have seen a decent run up in the recent past in anticipation of revival in volume growth. However, December has always been a soft month especially for the passenger vehicles and the two wheeler industry. Apart from this, movement in crude oil and currency would be actively tracked by traders,” Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking said.

“The volatility has risen a bit and it is expected to rise some more. The NIFTY, though it continues to hover around its high point, is unlikely to go beyond the 12300 levels significantly. Given the holiday season, the volumes will continue to remain impacted. The Hanging Man pattern that has emerged on the candle has the potential to interrupt any significant up move, though it will require a confirmation on the next trading day,” Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA Consulting Technical Analyst said.  The markets are likely to end the year tomorrow while trading in a defined range and vigilant protection of profits at higher levels and not chasing the up move blindly still make a wise case for themselves at the current levels,” he added.

In the previous session, the 30-share gauge ended 411.38 points, or 1 per cent, higher at 41,575.14. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty closed 119.25 points, or 0.98 per cent, up at 12,245.80. Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 81.37 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 125.77 crore on Friday, data available with the stock exchange showed.