Sensex ends in red; tech, oil & gas, pharma decline

MUMBAI: The S&P BSE Sensex ended choppy session in the red as bulls took a breather after the two-day upmove. Gains in capital goods, power and auto were offset by losses in technology, oil & gas and pharmaceuticals.

The 30-share index ended at 28,171.95, down 5.93 points or 0.02 per cent. It touched a lifetime high of 28,282.85 and a low of 28,119.95 in trade today.

The Nifty closed at 8,424.90, down 5.85 points or 0.07 per cent. It hit a life-time high of 8,454.50 and a low of 8,407.25 in trade today.

The S&P BSE Midcap Index was up 0.27 per cent and the S&P BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.95 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, the S&P BSE Capital goods Index gained 1.80 per cent, the S&P BSE Power Index moved 1.26per cent higher and the S&P BSE Auto Index advanced 0.52 per cent.

The S&P BSE IT Index was down 0.70 per cent, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas Index was 0.33 per cent lower and the S&P BSE Healthcare Index declined 0.23 per cent.

HDFC (1.92 per cent), Hindalco (1.87 per cent), Sun Pharma (1.82 per cent), ONGC (1.46 per cent) and TCS (1.09 per cent) were among the major Sensex losers.

Sesa Sterlite (up 4.09 per cent), BHEL (up 2.01 per cent), L&T (up 1.79 per cent), Bharti Airtel (up 1.57 per cent) and Tata Steel (up 1.42 per cent) were among the index gainers.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1751 gainers against 1364 losers.

(All figures are provisional)