Sensex snaps rally falls 55 points

Sensex ended its two day rally as it fell 55 points to close at 15411. Information technology and oil sector stocks were the major losers while metal stocks led the gainers on a volatile day when the index swung nearly 320 points.

With no major developments locally, the markets were largely dictated by global market movements.

Smaller stocks also saw a weak day, as BSE Midcap and BSE small cap indices ended in the red, though they restricted losses to below 1%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 920 shares rose compared to 1,804 declines. 60 shares remained unchanged.

Of the top 5 gainers among the Sensex stocks, three were metal companies. Hindalco was the biggest gainer rising nearly 8% to Rs 94.05. Mahindra (6.2%), Sterlite (5.8%), HDFC bank ( 3.85%) and Tata Steel ( 2.9%) were other major gainers. ONGC was the top loser shedding 4% followed  by Jaiprakash Associates (3.96%). ACC, BHEL and State Bank of India were other major losers falling 3% or more.