The Sensex and the Nifty snapped their four-day winning spree and ended near flat due to emergence of fresh selling in consumer durables and auto stocks amid weak European cues.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended at 27,860.38, down 5.45 points and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended at 8,324.15, up 1.95 points.

Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables stocks fell the most by 1.48 per cent, followed by auto 0.88 per cent, PSU 0.23 per cent and oil & gas 0.21 per cent. On the other hand, realty index was the star-performer and was up 3.61 per cent, followed by banking 0.46 per cent, healthcare 0.37 per cent and capital goods 0.29 per cent.

SSLT, Axis Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Infosys were the top five gainers among 30-share Sensex constituents, while the top five losers were GAIL, M&M, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti.

Indian shares hit a third consecutive record high on Monday but the gains fizzled out later in the session, with both indexes ending flat as automakers such as Tata Motors declined after the monthly sales fell.

Earlier in the session, the sentiment had been supported by a continued rally in lenders such as ICICI Bank due to expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would cut interest rates as early as its next policy reviews in December or February.

Airlines stock surges

Shares of airline companies surged as state-run oil marketing companies slashed jet fuel prices, according to local media reports.

Fuel charges contribute to nearly one-third of an airline's operational expenses - analyst with a local brokerage said.

Jet Airways Ltd was up 3.53 per cent and SpiceJet gained 6.75 per cent.

Auto stocks skid

Shares of auto companies fell after the October sales numbers were below some analysts' estimates.

Hero MotoCorp fell 1.66 per cent and Mahindra and Mahindra was down 2.67 per cent. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd was down 1.58 per cent, while Tata Motors was down 0.84 per cent.

Maruti reported a 1.1 per cent fall in October sales, while Mahindra reported a 15 per cent fall in sales.

According to Kotak Securities, auto manufacturers reported weak despatches in October. "We believe automobile growth is likely to moderate to low-single digits over the next few months,'' it said.

A report by Equentis Capital said: "India’s economy is expected to continue its growth story intact in long-term. Liberalisation of Indian economy could open opportunities in service, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. Positive efforts by the government in direction to make India as a better investment destination is clearly visible trying to keep foreign money in the country. Earlier growth-oriented tie-ups with other Asian and global countries by the government will surely help India to achieve better than expected economical growth in coming years."

Markets closed

Trading will be truncated this week as the stock market will remain closed tomorrow, November 4, on account of Muharram. Also, there will be no trading on Thursday on account of Gurunanak Jayanti.

Meanwhile, the provisional data released by the stock exchanges showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,754.73 crore last Friday.

European shares

European stocks were down, after this year’s biggest weekly rally, as investors weighed an increase in mergers and acquisitions activity.

Stoxx 50 was down 7.43 points or 0.24 per cent at 3,105.89 and FTSE 100 was down 8.47 points or 0.13 per cent at 6,538.

Asian stocks slipped from a one-month high after gauges of China’s manufacturing and services industries showed signs of a broadening slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

On the macro front, disappointing surveys out of China's manufacturing and services sectors will weigh on investor sentiment.

Data showed China's economy lost further momentum heading into the fourth quarter as a cooling property market weighed on activity and export demand softened. However, a fresh dip in the euro against the dollar was set to reassure investors about the profit outlook for European exporters.

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