Bulls and Bears equally matched in the wider market today

The Nifty consolidated on Monday, recovering from intra-day lows, but still closed with modest losses as traders took time to digest the previous day's 2 percent surge on the Index. PSU banks were the top gainers in a weak-to-sideways market.

The Nifty fell 41 points, or 0.5 percent, close at 8,477, as bears pushed heavy sales in the first 10 minutes of trade. The Nifty's Advance-Decline ratio was a strong 16/34. Cipla, post its stellar earnings, Zee Entertainment, Hindalco, Hero Motor and ONGC were the top five losers on the Index.

On the other hand, Bank of Baroda, Tata Steel, State Bank, PNB and GAIL were the top gainers on the Nifty, where BoB was the top traded counter with 939 crore rupees worth of shares transacted.

SBI, Cipla and Canara Bank were the other shares in heavy demand on the NSE.

The trend was mixed in the broader markets. Major indices such as CNX 100, CNX 200 and CNX 500 closed with losses amounting to 0.2-0.3 percent. Modest gains were seen on CNX Mid Cap, CNX Junior Nifty and CNX Small Cap Indices.

The Bank Nifty rose 99 points to 18,822 after the government took a series of steps to boost confidence in its majority controlled banks. As a consequence, the CNX PSU Bank Index jumped for a second day, surging 6.2 percent. The trend in other sectoral indices was flat to weak. The CNX Pharma, CNX, CNX Auto, CNX FMCG and CNX IT Indexes posted losses of between 0.1-1.3 percent on Monday.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex fell 189 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 27,879 points. Dr. Reddy's Vedanta, M&M, RIL and Axis Bank were among those that lost ground. Tata Steel, SBI, GAIL and Sun Pharma posted modest gains on the Sensex where the Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 10/20 and State Bank of India remained was the top traded counter with 84 crore rupees worth of shares changing hands.

Bulls and bears were equally matched in the wider market. Today 1,449 stocks gained ground versus 1,489 that fell below Friday's closing prices.

The Bears were in control of the futures and options space with Nifty Futures shedding 58 points at 8,484. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Amara Raja Batteries were the top gainers while Kaveri Seeds, Amtek Auto and Unitech futures fell sharply. Realty, Textiles, Cement and Auto sectors showed a fall in prices coupled with rising open interest.

Banking and metals were the only two spaces which showed a positive price and Open Interest trend. The Advance-Decline Ratio was at 64/97 in the futures and Options market.

Ceat, Amara Raja Batteries, Ashok Leyland and Bharat Gears hit fresh highs on the NSE. Birla Corp, Essar Shipping, Gitanjali Gems and KSB Pumps made it to the top volume buzzers list on the exchange.

(Image credits: Indiatimes)