Markets End on a Negative Note

Markets declined as investors remained cautious over murky global outlook and expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would continue to hike rates after better than expected industrial output data. The Nifty opened in the green and touched a high of 5,195 tracking firm global cues. The index wilted under selling pressure after the industrial output data came in higher than expected; stoking expectations that RBI may continue with its tightening process. The index made a low of 5,053 in the noon session. The Nifty finally closed at 5,073, down 65 points and the Sensex ended at 16,839 down 219 points. All the sectoral indices ended in red. The main draggers for the day are IT and Teck indices with a loss of more than two percentage points. On the global front, European stocks climbed, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s rally from a two-year low, as France, Spain, Italy and Belgium imposed.