Market wipe out early gains, mid and smallcap stocks underperform

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 19 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices wiped out morning gains and ended at near-flat levels on Wednesday with mid and small cap scrips performing much below investor expectations.
Still, the BSE S&P Sensex closed 66 points higher at 39,113 while the Nifty 50 was up 0.05 points at 11,691. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Nifty pharma fell 1.6 per cent while Nifty auto dropped 1.1 per cent.
Among stocks, Tata Steel gained 5.4 per cent to close at Rs 497.80 while Zee Entertainment was up 5.1 per cent at Rs 356.80. The other gainers were Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Titan, ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and ONGC.
But shares of Jet Airways continued to slide as the company stood on the brink of collapse. At close, the scrip was down 18.17 per cent to Rs 33.10 a piece.
Shares of Anil Ambani-led group companies also continued to drop. Reliance Capital was down 14.95 per cent at Rs 54.05 per share while Reliance Home Finance slipped 9.6 per cent to Rs 10.80 per share.
A severe liquidity crunch in the market hit Indiabulls Housing Finance too, which shed 8.9 per cent to close at Rs 555.40 per share.
Shares of IRB Infrastructure slumped 9.9 per cent after reports that National Highways Authority of India is planning to find a new operator for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway after the company's agreement ends in August.
Jammu & Kashmir Bank dropped 7.2 per cent after the Anti Corruption Bureau raided home of its former Chairman Parvez Ahmad. The state government on June 8 had removed Ahmad on charges of corruption, nepotism and favouritism.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks rose tracking gains in global shares amid optimism over progress on US-China trade front.
Shares in Hong Kong led the advance with the Hang Seng Index up as much as 2.6 per cent. Japanese and South Korean equities also traded higher. (ANI)