Following a weak start and a recovery attempt, the indices drifted downwards till around noon. Gains in metal stocks lifted the indices and they recovered most of their losses by mid-afternoon. The last hour saw further pressure as frontline technology stocks and select banking stocks slipped and the indices declined to the day's lows.

Nifty set a new lifetime intra-day high of 4167 in morning trades but the Sensex failed to move past its all-time high though the index opened above 14300.

Sensex closed with losses of 71 points at 14212 and the Nifty lost 24 points to end at 4124. Nifty February futures closed at a discount of 18 points to the spot index.

Suzlon Energy slipped substantially as its results failed to excite.

The stock was the biggest loser, ending 6.19 per cent lower.

ICICI Bank came under pressure today and closed 3.58 per cent lower while OBC ended 1.86 per cent lower.

Zee Entertainment corrected and slipped 3.49 per cent.

Among tech stocks, Wipro shed 3.22 per cent and Satyam gave up 2.15 per cent.

Tata Motors continued to decline and lost 3.04 per cent.

HPCL also continued its down trend and lost 2.1 per cent.

ITC was another major loser, closing 3.46 per cent lower.

Gujarat Ambuja was the worst performer among cement stocks and lost 2.72 per cent.

Reliance Communications surged ahead after shareholders approved a plan to de-merge the tower infrastructure. The stock was the best performer among index stocks with gains of 4.28 per cent.

Metal stocks continued their up trend today as well, led by Hindalco which gained 3.16 per cent. Tata Steel added 1.79 per cent while Nalco ended 1.08 per cent higher.

Pharma stocks had a good day, led by Glaxo which added 2.83 per cent. Cipla gained 1.93 per cent and Ranbaxy gained 1.28 per cent.

BHEL continued its rally from last week and gained another 2.57 per cent. Siemens ended 1.1 per cent higher.

BPCL was the other gainer, adding 1.18 per cent.

Global markets / crude oil
Asian markets were mixed in early trades but most of them ended the day with good gains. Shanghai led the region once again with gains of nearly 2.2 per cent while Singapore rallied 1.35 per cent.

Malaysia added 0.65 per cent while Indonesia gained nearly 0.35 per cent. Japan ended with gains of close to 0.3 per cent.

Among the losers, South Korea and Thailand lost around 0.6 per cent each while Hong Kong slipped 0.2 per cent.

European markets were weak in opening trades but the indices have recovered. Major indices are trading with gains of between 0.1 and 0.6 per cent each in early afternoon trades.

Crude oil prices have corrected modestly after last week's sharp recovery. Near month NYMEX futures has lost close to a per cent and is trading below $55 per barrel in European trades today.

Large-cap news flow

• Shareholders of Reliance Communications have approved the transfer of mobile towers to a subsidiary. The company currently has 12,000 telecom towers.
  
  
• Suzlon Energy would invest $220 million to set up a wind turbine gear box manufacturing unit near Coimbatore. It has received an order from BP for wind turbines with an aggregate capacity of 40 MW, taking the company's total order book to Rs7,716 crore. A subsidiary of Suzlon would start offering project erection and commissioning services.
  
  
• Ranbaxy has launched 2 new drugs in the urology segment in the domestic market.

Mid-Cap Action

Mid-caps and small caps were firm even as the large caps came under pressure. But they gave up a major part of the gains in the last hour of trade. The CNX Mid-Cap index ended 10 points, or 0.17 per cent, higher at 5326. BSE mid-cap index gained 0.2 per cent and the BSE small cap index ended with marginal gains of 0.01 per cent.

IndiaBulls surged 11.26 per cent after the company announced large overseas investments in its real estate subsidiaries

CMC resumed its rally and ended 10.83 per cent higher

Bilpower, which got listed on the NSE today, ended at Rs225.45

Novopan, Sakuma Exports, S Kumar's Synfab, Shivalik Global, BIL and 3M India were the major mid-cap gainers.

Mahindra Ugine, Precision Wire, GM Breweries, Manugraph, IFB Agro, Alchemist Limited, Sutlej Industries and Himatsingka Seide were among the major mid-cap losers.

Mid-cap news flow

• Indiabulls Financial said its real estate subsidiary would sell minority stakes in 3 operating subsidiaries to a foreign investment company for a total consideration of Rs437.4 crore. The foreign investor would further invest Rs618 crore in the 3 operating subsidiaries.
  
  
• Himatsingka Seide would acquire a 70 per cent stake in an Italian home furnishings manufacturer with revenues of €29 million. The company would also invest Rs400 crore to set up an integrated home furnishings unit within an SEZ in Karnataka.
  
  
• GMR Infrastructure said one of its subsidiaries has signed an agreement to set up a 160 MW hydro-electric power project in Arunachal Pradesh at an investment of Rs900 crore
• UCO Bank would open a representative office in the Chinese city of Guangzhou.
  
  
• Hinduja TMT has formed a JV with a UK-based consultancy and a domestic law firm to provide legal outsourcing services.
  
  
• Gemini Communication would issue bonus shares in the ratio of one share for every share held.
  
  
• IndusInd Bank is planning a GDR issue of 3 crore shares. Details of the issue would be finalised later.
  
  
• Kirloskar Brothers has received an order worth Rs140 crore for supplying pumps and motors for a water supply project in Andhra Pradesh.
  
  
• Ess Dee Aluminium said its subsidiary has expanded its aluminium foil capacity from 600 tonnes per annum to 2,000 tonnes per annum.
  
  
• Dishman Pharma would raise $50 million by issuing FCCB's.
  
  
• Jyoti Limited would issue 12 lakh equity shares to a Japanese entity at a price of Rs104 per share. The company would also issue 16.75 lakh warrants convertible at Rs104 per share to a domestic investor.
  
  
• Nitin Spinners would expand spinning capacity from 5,400 tonnes per year to 10,000 tonnes at an investment of Rs40 crore.
  
  
• Shareholders of Accentia Technologies have approved the merger of Geosoft and Iridium Technologies with the company.
  
  
• Balrampur Chini has acquired an 18.47 per cent stake in Indo-Gulf Industries.
  
  
• Lumax Auto is planning a QIP issue.
  
  
• Suven Life would issue bonus shares in the ratio of one share for every share held. The company's Rs2 face value shares would also be split into 2 shares of Re1 each.
  
  
• GVK Power would merge 2 privately held entities with the company.
  
  
• Surya Roshni would expand its CFL project at an investment of Rs20 crore besides spending Rs10 crore on real estate ventures.
  
  
• Aurobindo Pharma has received US FDA approval for cephalosporin in capsule form.
  
  
• BESL Infrastructure is in discussions with Accor Hotels and Adlabs Films to for an alliance to bid for a hotel and multiplex theatre in Orissa.
  

*Disclaimer: The author may have positions in some of the stocks specifically mentioned above at the time of writing this article. This analysis / report is only for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.