Part of the laboured up-move is the occasional fall, that we witnessed today

The market was down today, taking cues from weak global indices due to the debt crisis in Hungary. The Sensex was down 336 points (1.9%), at 16,781 while the Nifty ended at 5,034, down by 101.5 points (1.9%). The indices started the day with a sharp plunge and traded in a narrow range throughout the session. However, the market recovered on reports of the arrival of the monsoon, but that didn't provide much relief and it finally closed in the red.

Asian stock markets were down on Monday after Wall Street on Friday closed at its lowest level since February 2010, on disappointing non-farms payroll data and Hungary's debt problems. Key benchmark indices in China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan were down by 1.57% to 3.84%.

US stocks were down to their lowest close since February on Friday on low jobs rate and concern over Hungary's debt crisis. The Dow was down 323 points (3.1%) to 9,932. The S&P 500 was down 38 points (3.4%) to 1,065. The Nasdaq was down 84 points (3.6%) to 2,219. Hungary will stick to 3.8% gross domestic product (GDP) budget deficit target agreed with international lenders for this year and will cut expenditures to achieve it, said its economy minister.

Hungary's government also stressed that the nation is not facing any sovereign credit default. An announcement last week by the government official on the poor fiscal health of Hungary worried investors globally dragging down indices in various markets.

Back home, the monsoon has arrived after being halted by a cyclone, and it has reached Kerala, ahead of schedule. The monsoon is expected to cover more areas of southern Karnataka, a big producer of cane and corn, from Monday.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission said that fuel prices must be increased. Oil minister Murli Deora made a strong pitch for raising fuel prices ahead of Monday's meeting, saying it was needed to cut losses of State-run oil companies. The oil ministry is in favour of a gradual increase in fuel price starting with a quick rise in the petrol price and gradual increase in the diesel price.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers on Friday of Rs100 crore. Domestic institutional investors were the net sellers of Rs126 crore.

Reliance Communications' (RCom) (up 4.6%) board gave its approval to divest 26% in the company to a strategic or private equity investor and explore merger & acquisition opportunities. Maytas Infra (down 4%) has received a contract worth Rs185 crore to build part of the metro rail network in Gurgaon. Maytas will build an elevated viaduct and six stations within 21 months for ITNL ENSO Rail Systems.

Apollo Tyres (up 0.6%) is reportedly gearing up to supply tyres to German carmaker Volkswagen as it looks to expand its global footprint. Pipavav Shipyard (up 0.4%) has received a Rs2,600-crore contract from the Indian Navy to build offshore patrol vessels. The private shipyard will build five vessels, each with a displacement of about 2,000 tonnes.

Reliance Industries (down 2%) may foray into nuclear energy and has indicated to the government that it is keen on generation and distribution of nuclear power.

Bhushan Steel (down 3.4%) plans to raise about $500 million to finance its greenfield projects, which will be raised in one or more tranches from domestic or international markets and may involve one or more currencies.

Nagarjuna Construction Company (down 3.8%) is planning to foray into the hospitality sector through unit NCC Urban Infrastructure, which plans to invest Rs250 crore-Rs300 crore to add hotels, resorts and serviced apartments to its real-estate offerings.