Sensex closes down 14 points at 18731 - LuvKush Finserve

After a choppy session, the markets closed on a flat note, weighed down by selling in oil & gas and IT counters. The Sensex closed down 14 points at 18,731 while the Nifty closed unchanged at 5,688.

The broader markets, however, managed to retain some of its gains as the mid and smallcap indices closed up 0.2-0.3%, outperforming the BSE benchmark index which closed flat with a negative bias.

Among the sectoral indices, Oil & Gas, IT and Power closed in the negative, down 0.2-2%. On the other hand, metal, FMCG, Auto, Health Care, Bankex and Realty indices gained 1% each. Oil & Gas was weighed down by losses in Reliance Industries, down nearly 4% along with ONGC down 1%.

Banks continued to gain on hopes of a rate cut on lower-than-expected WPI in March along with the recent slump in commodity prices. SBI and ICICI Bank were the major gainers, up 1.8-2.8%.

The top gainers among the Sensex-30 were Sterlite, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, ITC, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki up 1-4%. Among the losers were HDFC, Tata Power, Dr Reddys Lab, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and L&T down 0.3-1.5%.

Source : Equity Bulls

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