Markets end down amid weakening rupee

The benchmark indices ended nearly 1% down on Thursday, amid a weakening rupee, with select auto and bank shares leading the fall.

The 50-share Nifty slipped 51 points to close below the psychological level of 5,200 at 5,188 levels and the Sensex ended weaker by 151 points to shut shop at 17,151 levels.

The Asian markets ended on a subdued note.

The Hang Seng slipped 0.3% to close at 21,249, Shanghai ended flat at 2,440 levels and Taiwan closed at 7,659, down 17 points.

Meanwhile, the European markets opened on a firm note and were trading higher. CAC, FTSE and DAX have advanced 0.5-1% each in the opening deals.

Back home, Hero MotoCorp ended lower by 8% to close at Rs 2,067 after reporting lower-than-expected 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in net profit at Rs 604 crore for the quarter ended March 2012, due to higher raw material cost.

Analysts had expected a net profit of Rs 626 crore from the world's largest two-wheeled vehicle manufacturer. Total income grew 12% at Rs 6,140 crore on y-o-y basis.

Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India, State Bank of India, Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel, DLF, Mahindra & Mahindra, and NTPC were also among the laggards.

On the other hand, HUL, Wipro, TCS, Sun Pharma, BHEL, Infosys and HDFC Bank were among the notable gainers among the Sensex stocks.

Auto, banking and metal stocks were amongst the worst hit in trades today.

The BSE Auto index was the top sectoral loser, down 2.5% or 257 points to shut shop at 10,205 levels.

BSE bank index- Bankex ended weaker by 1.6% or 197 points at 11,663

levels.

Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank and Canara Bank were among the top losers down 1.4-4% each.

Metal index shed 1.6% to close at 10,844 levels. PSU, realty, power, capital goods, FMCG and oil & gas and healthcare stocks also faced a mild selling pressure.

On the other hand, technology and consumer durable stocks witnessed a wee bit of buying in trades today.

Shares of sugar companies rallied in an otherwise weak market, after the government removed the cap on sugar exports and placed the commodity under the open general licence category.

Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini Mills, Triveni Engineering and Industries and EID Parry closed higher by 3-12% on back of huge volumes.

Bajaj Steel soared 17% to Rs 158 after reporting a net profit of Rs 81 lakh for the quarter ended March 2012. The company had a net loss of Rs 3 lakh in a year ago quarter.

Total operational income grew 52% at Rs 70 crore on year-on-year basis.

VIP Industries slipped 7% t Ros 86, extending its previous day's over 4% fall after its consolidated net profit for the March quarter more than halved to Rs 7.80 crore due to higher operating expenditure.

The company had a net profit of Rs 16.30 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The broader markets were in line with the benchmark indices, the BSE mid-cap index slipped 64 points to 6,234 levels and the small-cap index ended lower by 68 points at 6,709 levels.

The overall breadth was negative as 1,720 stocks are declined while 1,054 stocks advanced.