Sensex ends in red; RBI policy eyed

Benchmark share indices ended lower, amid weak Asian cues, as investors turned cautious ahead of Reserve Bank of India's decision on key rates at its policy review meet tomorrow.

The 30-share Sensex ended down 134 points at 28,560 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 32 points at 8,556 after hitting a record high of 8,623.

Meanwhile, India's factory growth expanded at its fastest pace in nearly two years.

November HSBC manufacturing PMI stood at 21-month high at 53.3 compared to 51.6 in October.

Further, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 935.86 crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The Indian rupee continued to trade weak against the US dollar.

The rupee is trading at 62.11 compared to Friday's close of 62.02.

Consumer Durables index was the top sectoral gainer up 3.3% followed by Healthcare, FMCG and IT sectors.

Oil and Gas index was the top loser on the BSE down 2.6% followed by Power, Metal and Capital goods indices.

Oil shares also witnessed profit taking tracking falling crude oil prices. Reliance Industries and ONGC ended down 2.9-4% each.

Other Sensex losers include, HDFC, M&M and HDFC Bank among others. Hindustan Unilever ended up 2.7%.

The company has indicated that it would be able to manage margin expansion, even with rising excise duties, going forward.

Maruti Suzuki gained 1.6% after the company reported a 19.5 per cent increase in total sales in November at 110,147 units as against 92,140 units in the same month last year. Infosys ended 0.2% lower.

The company has fixed December 3, 2014 as record date for the purpose of allotment of bonus shares / stock dividend.

In the capital goods space BHEL ended down 3.2% after rising 12% last week. Larsen & Toubro closed 1% lower on worries that falling crude oil prices would lead to lower order inflows from Gulf nations.

Sun Pharma ended down 0.5%.

The Competition Commission of India was supposed to come out with its decision by end of November and it is learnt that the regulator still has not given its nod to the $4 billion merger.

Among other shares, Shares of Spicejet zoomed 16%, extending its Friday’s 18% surge on BSE, after high networth investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala acquired 1.4% stake in the company through open market.

Jewellery stocks such as Titan, PC Jewellers and Tribhovandas Bhimji Jewellers (TBZ) ended 4-13% higher following the scrapping of gold import curbs and removal of the 80-20 scheme on Friday.

The latter mandated jewellery companies to export 20% of the gold they imported before importing further gold shipments.

Shares of paint manufacturer ended higher by up to 10%, extending their past three days rally on the bourses, on expectation of improvement in operating profit margins due to fall in crude prices.

Shalimar Paints, Berger Paints, Akzo Nobel India, Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac Paints ended up between 3-10% each.

Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers surged 9% after the company said Dr.Vijay Mallya, a director on the board of directors of the company, has resigned with immediate effect.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index ended down 0.1% while Small-cap index closed 0.7% lower. Market breadth ended negative with 1,671 losers and 1,221 gainers on the BSE.