Markets Witness Lacklustre Closing

The markets have begun the week on a rather restrained note, possibly on the back of the reversal on the Shanghai bourses and an uneasy opening across Europe. The Sensex ended at 20028, lower by 44 points and the Nifty ended at 5998, down 13 points. There was divergence in the broader market space, though, with the midcap index ending at 7614, lower by 13 points and the small cap index ending at 9374, up 19 points. China's key stock index had wiped out an earlier 1.5% gain to end down 1.9% as investors dumped property, financial and energy shares on concerns about their longer-term outlook after a short-lived relief rally in the morning. The other Asian markets had a mixed closing; the Nikkei ended higher by nearly a percent, while the Hang Seng shed about half a percent. China's central bank had raised the interest rates by a 25 basis points on Christmas Day, moving sooner than many analysts and market participants had expected. Moreover, the European markets had an edgy start, with the CAC and DAX slipping by more than a percent each. The London markets are shut till Wednesday on account of the festive season. A surge in crude oil price to a 26-month high near $92 a barrel seemed to have weighed on the sentiment.