Domestic stock markets ended marginally lower on Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of unscheduled meeting of the US Federal Reserve on 23 November.
While the BSE S&P Sensex fell 49 points to end at 25,819 points, the 50-share Nifty closed at 7,849, down seven points.
"The Sensex and Nifty turned cautious and ended marginally lower ahead of the unscheduled US Federal Reserve meeting later today (Monday, 23 November). After opening on a humble note, indices were unable to carry forward the previous week's momentum. The market was stuck in a narrow trading range throughout the day and closed slightly off the day's low," said a note from IIFL.
The Sensex opened at 25,945 and touched an intra-day high of 25,958 and low of 25,747 before ending at 25,819.
Markets were also nervous ahead of the Winter session of Parliament this week, as the passage of key economic bills looks difficult in the wake of the BJP-led alliance's defeat in the recently-concluded Bihar Assembly elections.
Besides, the growing expectations over interest rate hike in the US have kept the markets edgy.
"The market may remain cautious on account of factors like expiry which is due on Thursday, 26th November and the start of the Winter session on the same day. In the meantime, global markets may remain cautious as the focus is on the Fed rate hike which is likely to happen in December 15 – January 16," Business Standard quoted Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, as saying.
On the sectoral front, Consumer Durables and Realty indices were the top gainers, while Metal and FMCG were the biggest losers.
Global markets remained mixed going into Fed meeting on Monday, with China's Shanghai Composite index ending 0.3% higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closing 0.45% lower.
Among the metal stocks, Hindalco and Vedanta were the top losers. Shares of SpiceJet gained over 10% after the airline announced it recorded the highest passenger load factor (PLF) of 92.1% in October, citing the data published by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Balaji Telefilms, Petronet LNG, Vakrangee, Strides Shasun, RPG Life Sciences and Sri Adhikari Brothers touched a 52-week high on the BSE.
On the commodity front, gold prices fell Rs 100 to end at Rs 25,650 per 10 grams at the bullion market today, as the metal prices remained under pressure due to fears over the US central bank rate hike. Silver prices also ended Rs 225 lower at Rs 33,800 per kg.
