Nifty ends lower as IT sector comes under pressure

Mumbai, Oct 12 (IANS) Nifty ended lower on Thursday in the volatile session, swinging between gains and losses. At close, Nifty was down 0.09 per cent or 17.4 points at 19,794, while the Sensex fell by 64 points or 0.097 per cent to end at 66,408, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

The Small-cap index rose 0.6 per cent even as the advance decline ratio fell to 1.38:1.

World shares rose on Thursday ahead of US inflation data that will add to the hotly-contested debate on where interest rates are heading. The mood was enhanced by news that China's massive sovereign wealth fund had bought stakes in the country's biggest banks, fuelling speculation it could broaden its reach to support beleaguered mainland markets, Jasani said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the underwhelming result of the IT major and its lacklustre near-term prospects exerted downward pressure on the IT sector. Nevertheless, the broad market exhibited strength, primarily in anticipation of healthy overall Q2 results led by expansion in operating profit as volume demand is sustained despite global slowdown.

The global trend was positive attributable to the favourable UK GDP figures and anticipation of a moderation in US CPI inflation, which may influence the Fed's future action, he said.