Cement shares also declined. Gujarat Ambuja Cements was off 2.3% to Rs 135.65, Grasim fell 1.3% to Rs 2,680 and UltraTech Cement shed 2.4% to Rs 883. ACC closed flat at Rs 1,087.95. Swiss cement company Holcim on Thursday acquired additional 3.6% stake in Gujarat Ambuja Cements raising its holding to 18.4%, for Rs 685 crore.

Auto shares continued their decline. Hero Honda shed 1.9% to Rs 692.50, Bajaj Auto sank 0.9% to Rs 2,564, Maruti Udyog lost 0.4% to Rs 889.30 and Tata Motors lost 0.6% to Rs 808.40.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd lost 0.5% to Rs 812.50 as it informed BSE that the company is in discussion with the promoters of Schoeneweiss & Co GmbH, a forging company based in Germany, to acquire a majority stake in the company.

Other decliners included BHEL and Satyam declining 1% each to Rs 2,426 and Rs 434, respectively. Hindustan Lever ended at Rs 240 and Tata Steel at Rs 476, shedding 1.3% each.


9:45AM Nymex boosted its IPO. It started trading at $120.
Stocks reversed from solid gains after the Commerce Department reported that housing construction fell to its lowest level in more than six years, driven by fund selling across commodity markets on concern of an economic slowdown in the United States. Nymex Holdings (NMX: chart) will be in the spotlight as it priced its IPO above the planned range late Thursday. The IPO of 6.5 million shares priced at $59 each, came in above the expected range of $54 to $57 a share. Nymex had already boosted its IPO price range from $48 to $52 a share earlier this week and increased the size of the offering from 6 million shares. In earnings news, Starbucks Corp. (SBUX: chart) posted a 5% drop in Q4 profit, meeting expectations. The stock fell 5.6% as investors grew concerned about issues such as labor costs. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: chart) gained 1% after it agreed to buy Conor Medsystem, a developer of drug-eluting stents, for $33.50 a share, or $1.4 billion.

The semiconductor sector turned in one of the market''s worst performances, with Marvell (MRVL: chart), down 3.2%, helping to lead the sector lower after negative analyst comments. Housing stocks came under pressure, as traders took profit after recent strength. A decrease in commodities prices contributed to some weakness among resource stocks. In the first hour of trading, the Dow fell 20.18, or 0.16%, to 12,285.64. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 2.83, or 0.20%, at 1,396.93, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 7.56, or 0.31%, at 2,441.50. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.63% from 4.67% late Thursday.


9:30AM London stocks were lower in early trading Friday on oil stocks.
The main index FTSE 100 in London was 15.1 points or 0.2% lower at 6,239.8 in mid-morning trade.

Decliners

BP led blue-chip fallers in London, shedding 1.7%, while BG Group was down 1.3% and Royal Dutch Shell B shares lost 0.9% on the lower oil price.

British Energy was down 0.9%, after it said that cracked pipes at two of its nuclear power stations were expected to have a significant impact on output for the financial year.

Copper prices once again hit mining stocks as Shanghai Futures Exchange contracts were lower across the board, increasing supply concerns. Kazakhmys fell 1.4%, BHP Billiton was lower by 1.2% and Anglo American lost 1.1%.

Some mid-cap companies were also dragged down by oil stocks with Dana Petroleum sliding 2.3% and Tullow Oil down 2%.

Advancers

ITV shares gained 1.1% after the Financial Times reported that RTL ias working with private equity backers on a possible 5 billion pounds offer for the commercial broadcaster.

Northern Foods put on 2.5% after ABN Amro upgraded the stock from hold to buy and raised its price target.

Ground preparation group Keller has issued another very bullish trading statement. Trading since the half year has been extremely good, it stated, culminating in an outstanding performance in October with orders up around 15% since the end of June. Keller advanced 6.45%.

Northern Foods made strong gains after ABN Amro turned buyer on the shares following interim figures earlier in the week. The Dutch broker also lifted its price target. Northern Foods gained 5.46%.