Market loses 27 points to enter negative zone, Nifty fails to hold previous 8,300-mark

The market, in a sign of directionless trade, laid to waste a positive start by edging down 27 points and the Nifty failing to hold on to the 8,300 level scaled earlier.

Domestic investors continued with their buying activity supported by a firm Asian trend. IT, technology and realty counters saw profit-booking though. The Sensex opened higher at 26,929.69 and moved in a range of 27,009 and 26,883.78 before trading at 26,851.67 at 1154 hours, down 26.57 points, or 0.10%, from its last close. The NSE 50-share Nifty also went down marginally by 9.25 points, or 0.11%, at 8,264.55 at 1154 hours.

Notable losers were TCS 2.39%, Infosys 2.33% and Wipro 1.73%. Major gainers were ONGC 3.06%, Dr Reddy's 2.12% and GAIL 1.27%. Meanwhile, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 86.88 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Overseas, most Asian markets were trading positive. In the US, the Nasdaq closed at a record yesterday as the broader stock market finished lower, dragged down by a steep slide in the financial sector and major retailers.