Money on the markets

The stock market was choppy today amid mixed cues from global markets. The benchmark opened 0.5 pct down and slipped further in the day as heavy volumes and signs of resistance saw investors booking profits instead of buying.

The Sensex touched an intra-day low of 13,976.49points and finally closed 241.37 points down at 14,060.66 The Nifty ended 48.15 points lower at 4,270.30.

The main contributors to the benchmark’s fall were ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Banking Index dropped 2.4 percent, followed by the Oil & Gas Index which ended 2.09 percent lower. The BSE Consumer Durable Index, however, ended higher at 9.69 percent.

FIIs bought net $1062.3 million in shares and $3.3 million in debt. Foreign funds have pumped about $4 billion into the market so far this year, pushing the market up by almost half from the year’s low in early March.

Do you think the market will remain choppy tomorrow or will it gain momentum as the Congress-led coalition finalises its plans for the formation of a new government?