Sensex ends in negative; metals and cement stocks drag

Mumbai: It was an extremely volatile trading session as the market closed on Monday on a soft note with a downward bias. The Sensex ended the day at 18877.96, down 40.56 points while the Nifty lost 21.20 points to close at 5698.50.

Selling pressure was seen in metals and cement stocks. Some of the losers among the metal stocks include Hindalco, SAIL, Jindal Steel, JSW Steel and Sesa Goa shedding around 3-4.5 percent each. ACC (down 3.8 per cent), Shree Cement (down 3.1 per cent), Ambuja (down 2.3 per cent), UltraTech Cement (down 2 per cent) were among the losers in the cement space.

High beta stocks like DLF and Reliance Infra (down 3.4 per cent each) also dragged the indices during the day. Slipping 11.41 per cent, Essar Oil closed the day at Rs 72.65 on the BSE, despite receiving phase III environmental clearance for its coal bed methane gas field at Raniganj, West Bengal. With the environmental nod granted by the government of India's Ministry of Environment and Forests, the company is allowed to increase drilling to 650 wells.

High beta stocks like DLF and Reliance Infra (down 3.4 per cent each) also dragged the indices during the day.

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