Nifty struggles to break 8000 mark

The NSE 50 and BSE 30 shares witnessed good amount of strength before the April F&O expiry session. Oil & Gas and FMCG have done well and ended in the positive by 115 points and 78 points, respectively. However Banking index witnessed some profit booking at higher end. The Nifty ended up by 17 points at 7979 and Sensex closed 56 points higher at 26064. The indices ended higher around 0.22 per cent each.

The advance-decline ratio ended on a same proportion on both the sides. On the NSE, 1277 shares closed in green and 1289 shares ended in red.

Top 5 Nifty Gainers: Adani Ports closed the day as the highest gainer, up by 5.3%. Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Bharti Infratel and GAIL were among the others that closed higher.

Top 5 Nifty Losers: ICICI Bank closed lower by 3.7% today, followed by Axis Bank, SBI, Ultratech and Tata Power.

10 out of the 13 sectors ended in the green. Oil & Gas were the top gainers, up by 115 points. FMCG and Auto ended the day higher by points 78 and 56 points, respectively. Mid-Caps and Small-Caps also gained 14 points and 31 points, respectively. However Bankex and Capital Goods closed on a  negative mark, down by 169 points and 32 points, respectively. 

The Asian markets closed on a negative note. The Hang Seng ended lower by 45 points and Straits Times and KOSPI were also in the negative. Nikkei was top loser, closing down by 62 points.

Buzzers: ICICI Bank ended down by 3.7 per cent and closed below Rs 250. If it opens below 245 mark, it may see a further decline.

The Nifty Futures has not crossed its first hurdle of 8000 level, indicating strong resistance on higher levels.