Indian Shares End Volatile Session Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended a volatile session lower on Tuesday ahead of the Christmas day holiday on Wednesday and the expiry of December series F&O contracts on Thursday. The rupee traded firmer for the third consecutive session, helping to limit the downside to some extent.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 68.32 points or 0.32 percent to 21,032.71, while the broader Nifty index finished at 6,267.10, down 17.40 points or 0.28 percent from its previous close.

Tata Power tumbled 3.2 percent, leading the decliners in the Sensex pack. Sesa Sterlite dropped 2.3 percent after the Central Bureau of Investigation started a preliminary probe against billionaire Anil Agarwal in connection with alleged irregularities in the disinvestment of Hindustan Zinc.

Tata Steel, Gail India, HDFC Bank, Hindalco Industries, HDFC, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma and Wipro lost 1-2 percent.

Infosys rose 0.6 percent on bargain hunting after falling over 2 percent yesterday. Larsen & Toubro finished 0.7 percent higher after the engineering & construction giant said it has completed the sale of 1.72 crore shares of L&T Finance Holdings to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirements.

Lanco Infratech rose 1.5 percent after receiving lenders' approval to restructure debt worth more than Rs. 7,000 crore. Century Textiles & Industries soared over 13 percent on heavy volumes.

UltraTech Cement rallied 1.8 percent after the Competition Commission of India approved its nearly Rs 3,800-crore deal with Jaypee Cement Corporation to acquire its facilities in Gujarat.

Apollo Tyres climbed 8 percent to hit a 15-month high, extending recent gains, on expectations the company will drop its $2.5 billion deal to buy U.S.-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.

The Asian markets rose broadly after strong data on U.S. consumer sentiment and personal spending brightened U.S. economic outlook. China's central bank moved to ease cash crunch fears, further bolstering investor confidence. European stocks were modestly higher amid shortened trading hours.