Sensex sheds 44 points ahead of F&O expiry; capital goods stocks plunge

The Sensex and the Nifty ended the session marginally in the red ahead of market holiday on Wednesday and as investors remained cautious ahead of November futures and options expiry on Thursday.

Domestic sentiment was also dampened due to weak global cues.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended lower by 43.6 points or 0.17 per cent at 25,775.74 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended down by 17.65 points or 0.22 per cent at 7,831.60.

Among BSE sectoral indices, capital goods index fell the most by 1.2 per cent, followed by auto 0.74 per cent, IT 0.66 per cent and TECk 0.53 per cent. On the other hand, realty index was up 1.29 per cent, followed by oil & gas 0.63 per cent and PSU 0.04 per cent.

Top five Sensex gainers were HUL (+2.42%), HDFC (+2.09%), Reliance (+1.67%), Bharti Airtel (+1.14%) and Lupin (+1.12%), while the major losers were Maruti (-2.05%), L&T (-1.94%), Bajaj Auto (-1.91%), Sun Pharma (-1.5%) and NTPC (-1.32%).

Early trade

The Nifty and the Sensex opened and traded negative on circumspect behaviour by marketmen.

The Nifty opened 12 points down at 7,837, while the Sensex opened 33 points down at 25,786.

Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd, said in a statement: "The market may remain cautious on account of factors like expiry of equity derivatives which is due on Thursday, 26th November and the start of the winter session on the same day. In the meantime, global market may remain cautious as the focus is on the Fed rate hike which is likely to happen in December 15 - January 16."

Global markets

European shares followed Asian stocks lower on Monday while a slightly weaker dollar eased the pressure on beleaguered metals that held near multi-year lows.

Asian shares dragged their feet on Tuesday after a healthcare mega-merger failed to impress investors while the dollar held firm near an eight-month high as investors grew more convinced of a US rate hike next month.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat while Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.1 per cent after a long weekend.

US stock indexes closed slightly lower in a quiet trading day on Wall Street after last week's strong gains, while a big healthcare deal failed to impress investors on Monday.