Sensex, Nifty drop as political worries weigh

Despite efforts by Congress leaders to clarify on political developments, benchmark indices dropped in trade as political uncertainty following the withdrawal of support by the DMK weighed on sentiments.

The Nifty closed the day lower by 51 points, while the Sensex shed 93 points (provisional) in trade. Among the top losers in trade today were Reliance Infra, which plunged more then 7 per cent. Other prominent losers in trade were Jaiprakash Associates, ACC, IDFC, Punjab National Bank, DLF and Larsen and Toubro.

PSU stocks were hit the most in trade today with HMT, MMTC, Bhel, BEML, United Bank, Indian Bank all declining.

Metal stocks too dived in line with the broad negative sentiment, with notable losers from the space being NMDC, JSW Steel, Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries

Blue chip companies that hit their 52-week lows were Hindalco, MMTC, Reliance Infrastructure, Bhel ABB and BEL.

Banking stocks plunged with ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank dropping. Several PSU banks saw deep cuts of more then 3 per cent in trade. Among those included Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India and Union Bank of India.

Nifty stocks that gained today was Hindustan Unilever, which jumped following an upgrade by UBS. Other notable gainers were Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC.

Shares in Natco Pharma rallied after the Delhi HC allowed Natco to make and sell anti-cancer drug Sunitinib.

Shares of 3M India gained after the promoter said that they will sell their 1.13 lakh shares in the company via offer for sale on Thursday.

Meanwhile, markets in Europe were trading higher, while most of Asia ended with gains. Prominent gainers in Asia were the Chinese Shanghai Composite and the Hong Kong's Hang Sang. The Japanese Nikkei was close for trading today.

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