Oil & metal stocks slip; Nifty struggles below 8250

The market is sluggish with no major trigger to drive it. The Sensex is down 43.55 points at 27352.18, and the Nifty is down 9.75 points at 8236.55. About 1221 shares have advanced, 1362 shares declined, and 107 shares are unchanged. 

Oil stocks slipped as Reliance, Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp are among the losers while BHEL, NTPC, Dr Reddy's Labs, HUL and L&T.

Gold ticked higher on weaker equities, but gains were limited as the dollar was perched at a near-nine-year high versus a basket of major currencies, undermining the metal's appeal as a hedge.

For the year, gold is down about 1.5 percent, hurt by a stronger dollar and expectations of an interest rate hike in the United States. The recent plunge in oil prices have also hurt bullion's appeal as a hedge against oil-led inflation.

Gold slumped 28 percent in 2013 as investor demand waned on the back of a robust US economy and better-yielding stocks. Many analysts have forecast more declines in gold prices. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com