Nifty ends below 8,100-mark, down 22 points

Mumbai: The Nifty 50-share index fell for the fifth consecutive session with modest loss of 22 points after witnessing bouts of intra-day volatility weighed by banking, financials, pharma, auto, metal and infra stocks amid mixed global cues, while IT, media and FMCG ended in green.

Overseas, European stocks were trading mixed amid volatility, with Italian banks among the biggest gainers after news the country's government is preparing a bailout package for struggling lenders.

Asian stocks ended mixed after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy steady while offering a brighter view of the economy today. Back home, the Nifty opened higher at 8,110.60 and moved in a range of 8.124.10 and 8,062.75 before ending at 8,082.40, showing a fall of 21.95 points or 0.27 per cent.

It saw an intra-day movement of about 61.35 points. On sectoral front, PSU Bank fell by 2.53 per cent, followed by Pharma (1.13 per cent), Bank (1.03 per cent), Pvt Bank (0.94 per cent), Finance Service (0.94 per cent), Auto (0.82 per cent), Metal (0.83 percent), Infra (0.42 per cent) and Energy (0.36 per cent).

However, IT rose by 0.97 per cent, followed by Media 0.86 per cent and FMCG 0.41 per cent. Major index laggards were Idea (4.12 per cent), Auro Pharma (3.73 per cent), Bosch Ltd (2.96 per cent), Yes Bank (2.77 per cent), SBIN (2.60 percent), Bank Of Baroda (2.26 per cent) and Eicher Motor (2.02 per cent).

The gainers included Tcs (2.20 per cent), Ambuja Cem (2.09 per cent), Zeel (1.60 per cent), ACC (1.37 per cent) and ITC (1.30 pct).

A total of 1,186 scrips declined 432 advanced while 66 remained unchanged. Total securities that hit their price bands were 99. Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 15,384.60 crore from Rs 68,084.88 crore as on Monday.

A total of 7,325.24 lakh shares changed hands in 6,808,488 trades. The market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 10,360,676.30 crore.