Here's how the beginning of the week ended at the Markets

A string of programmed sell orders pushed the Nifty lower on Monday as algorithmic trades near strong resistance levels caused sudden panic in the market during late afternoon trades.

The Nifty fell 39 points close at 8,525. A 70-point fall in the Index came in less than 18 minutes, pointing to computer-based sell orders on index heavyweights that caused this swift fall. The Nifty's Advance-Decline ratio was 12/38 with ONGC, Tata Motors, M&M, Hindalco and Cairn taking the first five slots on the losing side. BHEL, Hero Motors, TCS, Maruti and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers on the Index.

Profit booking continued across the board with major indices such as CNX 100, CNX 200, CNX Midcap, CNX Small Cap and CNX 500 ending with losses.

The Bank Nifty fell 19 points to 18,875. The trend in other sectoral indices was bearish. CNX Energy, CNX Metals, CNX IT and CNX FMCG lost ground.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex dropped 135 points to close at 28,101 points. ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco, Tata Motors and Coal India were the top losers on the Index, whereas BHEL, Hero Motors, Maruti and GAIL edged up in trade. The Advance-Decline Ratio stood at a negative 9/21 on the Sensex on which Tata Motors was the top traded counter worth 61.3 crore rupees.

Bears dominated the wider market for the third day running with just 1,422 stocks gaining ground versus 1,531 fell below friday's closing prices.

The trend remained bearish in the derivatives space with Nifty Futures closing just a shade above 8,520 points. Fertiliser, Pharma and Realty were the only 3 sectors showing bit gains whereas major losses were seen on Infrastructure, Cement and Power spaces. The Advance-Decline Ratio favoured the bears with a ratio of 35/126 in the futures and Options market.

Traders celebrated strong earnings from Chennai Petroleum, Chambal Fertilisers, Marksans Pharma and Wockhardt. But they were disappointed with UCO Bank, IL&FS Transportation and J&K Bank.
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