Domestic markets took a breather on Thursday as sharp run-up in the previous session triggered off a wave of selling activity all around the bourses. Trading remained dull with key indices lingering in the negative territory for most of the day and making unsuccessful attempts to get going after entering in the green on a couple of occasions. Weakness across global markets, too, weighed heavily on the sentiments. After showing irresolution till noon, markets did bounce-back from intraday lows following the release of September IIP data, but weren't able to keep on the thrust for long and retraced immediately thereafter. Selling pressure played a spoilsport across most sectors, with an exception of counters like software and technology that saw respectable buying. Realty, metal and banking shares were worst hit. Finally, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 153.57 points or 0.91% to end at 16,696.03, while the S&P CNX Nifty declined 51.30 points or 1.03% to settle at 4952.65.

The US markets declined after consecutive gains on Thursday, the gain in dollar led the decline in the energy stocks. The government report that consumers and businesses cut back on their use of oil and gas, stirred worries that the falling demand for energy was a sign of more weakness in the economy. Energy news outshined the Labor Department report that new claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 from an upwardly revised 514,000 the previous week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 93.79 points, or 0.91%, to 10,197.47.The broader S&P 500 index fell by 11.27 points, or 1.03%, to 1,087.24, and the Nasdaq was down by 17.88 points, or 0.83%, to 2,149.02.

Crude prices suffered a huge set back with the report that consumers and businesses cut back on their use of oil and gas. The Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that oil and gas supplies grew more than expected last week as American drivers and businesses cut way back on energy use. Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up $2.34 to settle at $76.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery fell $1.94 to $76.01 on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Indian rupee declined on Thursday, tracking the decline in the regional and local stock markets. The rupee made a soft start as the regional stock markets were trading low and when the domestic stock markets too turned weak the rupee followed the suit. The other factor that weighed down the currency was the dollar demand from the oil refiners, though the weakness in dollar against other major currencies prevented any further decline. The rupee closed at 46.65,33 paise stronger compared to its Wednesday's close of 46.32.

The FII on Thursday were the net buyers in both equity as well as debt segments. In equity segment the gross buying was of Rs 3087.10 crore against gross sell of Rs 2114.30 crore, while in the debt segment the gross purchase was of Rs 284.00 crore with gross sales of Rs 250.40 crore.

The US markets got a halt to its rally as the crude supplies in the country increased, investors got worried that the falling demand for energy was a sign of more weakness in the economy. The Asian markets have made a mixed opening with some indices trading down by about 1%. The domestic markets declined in the previous trade despite an unexpected surge in industrial production and are likely to continue trading weak in the early hours though, some recovery can be expected in late trades.

Support and Resistance: S&P CNX Nifty and BSE Sensex

                                                             Nifty Top volumes

• Suzlon Energy has been included in Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).
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• As per COAI data Idea Cellular has added 1.9 million subscribers in the month of October.
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• Cipla has launched 'Antiflu', an Oseltamivir brand and generic version of Tamiflu to treat H1N1.