Holiday blues

Wednesday being a trading holiday on account of Independence Day, there was a perceptible lack of enthusiasm about taking fresh positions on Tuesday. Trading remained largely range-bound and the benchmark indices ended the day with marginal losses. While the 30-share Sensex lost 16.30 points to close at 15,000.91, the broader S&P CNX Nifty ended the day at 4,370.20, down 3.45 points. Incidentally, the Sensex traded in a narrow band of 105 points throughout Tuesday.

Among the Sensex pack, 14 advanced, while 16 stocks ended on the losing side. ACC, HDFC, Grasim Industries, HUL, Bhel, Maruti Udyog, L&T and TCS were some of the losers in the Sensex pack.Among other stocks, Sterlite Optical gained more than 4% to close at Rs 227.30. TVS Electronics also gained close to 5% to end at Rs 47.45.

Chambal Fertilisers, CMC, Bank of India, NTPC and Neyvelli Lignite were some of the other prominent gainers in the A Group of stocks.