NIFTY SLIPS DOWN

Indian equities were subdued on Monday as global markets declined on concerns of recessionary pressure on economy.

All the sectoral indices were in the red with IT and oil & gas space worst hit. Market is likely to remain volatile in a narrow range as traders are expected to stay away from taking fresh positions ahead of a truncated week.

"Dow closed in the positive but all other Asian markets are negative. IIP data is slated for release on March 12, 2009, and market expects it to come in at -1.5%. We, however, believe that the number will not disappoint the market.

We continue to believe that 2009 will be the year of consolidation and any sharp decline in markets must be used as an opportunity to invest aggressively. For the day, we expect the market to open down and continue its selling pressure," said Religare Report.

At 10:30 am, National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 2588.85, down 31.30 points or 1.19 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 2583.60 and high of 2621.25. Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 8224.56, down 101.26 points or 1.22 per cent. The broader index hit a low of 8213.90 and high of 8259.22 in early trade.

"Trend deciding level for the day is 8,240 / 2,596. Nifty trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 8,433 / 2,652. However, if Nifty trades below 8,240 / 2,596 for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 8,133 - 7,940 / 2,564 - 2,507," said Angel Broking note.

BSE Midcap Index slipped 0.64 per cent and BSE Smallcap declined 0.45 per cent. Amongst the sectoral indices BSE IT Index was down 1.99 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index was down 1.72 per cent and BSE FMCG Index declined 1.45 per cent. BPCL (-3.11%), Hindustan Unilever (-3.08%), TCS (-2.45%), Reliance Capital (-2.36%), Punjab National Bank (-2.28%) were the top Nifty losers.

HDFC (2.27%), Cairn India (2.05%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (1.59%), HDFC Bank (1.53%) and Hero Honda (0.19%) were amongst the gainers.

Shares of Sterlite

Industries declined despite the company's plans to buy US based Asarco for $1.7 billion. The scrip was down 2.62 per cent. Satyam Computers surged over 14 per cent on reports that the company had commenced a competitive bidding process for selection of an investor to acquire 51 per cent equity interest in the company.

Meanwhile, US stocks ended on a flat note on Friday, with the Dow and S&P rebounding late in the day to end higher as surging oil prices lifted energy stocks and offset a sell-off in technology shares on bets that the slowing economy will sap consumer spending on gadgets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.50 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 6,626.94.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up 0.12 percent, to 683.38. But the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.74 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 1,293.85. Asian markets declined led by banks on capital concerns. Nikkei fell 1.03 per cent, Hang Seng lost 1.76 per cent and Straits Times lost 1.96 per cent. Kospi was up 0.35 per cent.