Investors in wait n watch mode

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower in highly volatile trade on Thursday as losses in healthcare and IT stocks were largely offset by gains in energy and metal shares amid positive global trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 5.43 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 66,017.81. During the day, it hit a high of 66,235.24 and a low of 65,980.50. The Nifty slipped 9.85 points or 0.05 per cent to 19,802.

“It turned out to be a dull session as the benchmark ended unchanged after trading in a narrow band. After the initial uptick, Nifty slipped lower in no time and remained in a tight range till the end,” said Ajit Mishra, SV-P (technical research), Religare Broking Ltd.

“The declining oil prices and ease in US bond yields are the key positives for a broader recovery for the market,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs306.56 crore, according to exchange data.

Range-bound momentum continued on main indexes as the market looked for new triggers for a decisive move beyond the 19,800 level. However, the broad markets' undercurrent is strong and rapid buying has emerged in the mid and small-cap counters as a bargaining strategy arose on recent underperforming stocks. In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.44 per cent, and midcap index gained 0.15 per cent. Among the indices, healthcare declined 1.13 per cent, IT fell 0.46 per cent, consumer durables declined 0.44 per cent, teck (0.26 per cent), capital goods (0.26 per cent) and power (0.11 per cent). Realty climbed 1.22 per cent, oil & gas jumped 1.21 per cent, energy (0.84 per cent), telecommunication (0.82 per cent) and metal (0.53 per cent).