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Aarati Krishnan

IT was a day for frenzied profit taking at both the bourses on Friday, with both the key indices registering a sharp setback during the day's trading.

The BSE Sensex closed the day with an 83.3-point loss in value, closing at 4,865.8 points. The day was also marked by high volatility, with the Sensex registering a swing of about 107 points during the course of the day.

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The S&P CNX Nifty also closed on a bearish note, with 29.5 points shaved off its value, to close at 1,550.5 points. The NSE's move to impose additional exposure margins of 2-3 per cent on derivative contracts appears to have sparked off the decline in equity values since November 10, the date when the new margins became applicable.

The NSE's decision to effect changes in the approved list of securities for additional base capital and security deposit in derivatives segment has also has its impact on the cash market.

Index stocks came in for some heavy profit booking, with the gainers among the index stocks being overwhelmed by the losers. Sixteen of the Sensex constituents lost ground during the day's trading, against just four that held steady. Heavyweights such as Infosys and Reliance Industries lead the list of losers, followed by stocks such as Ranbaxy and L&T. The Infosys stock shed Rs 114 during the day to close the day at Rs 4,612.9, after a 2.4 per cent loss. Reliance Industries lost Rs 12.6 or 2.6 per cent to close out at Rs 464.4.Cement stocks appeared to be targets for some heavy selling, with ACC (which lost Rs 5 or 2.3 per cent), L&T (which shed 4.9 per cent or Rs 20), Grasim (which lost 3.7 per cent or Rs 33.7) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (which lost 3.6 per cent), all closing on a negative note. Stocks that registered heightened activity during the day's trading were IFCI, which lost marginally to close at Rs 15.3 (32.6 lakh shares changed hands), Rama Newsprint (the stock was up 2.6 per cent to Rs 11.2 as 2.7 lakh shares changed hands) and Ashok Leyland (which lost Rs 12.5, on the back of a fourfold increase in transaction volumes).

The Rama Newsprint stock appears to have reacted to news that West Coast Paper has sewn up the deal with ICICI Bank to acquire a controlling stake in the company at Rs 5 per share.

The gainers were few and far between for a day marked by unrelieved profit booking. Bharti Tele-ventures was among the few index stocks which ended the day on a positive note, gaining 2.2 per cent to close at Rs 84.6.

The stock appears to have responded positively to reports that Bharti, along with the other cellular operators, is likely to approach the Supreme Court on the unified license issue.

Jindal Iron and Steel (Jisco), was another stock which registered significant gains during the day's trading, gaining 5.7 per cent to close at Rs 204.4.

The stock rose, while Jindal Vijayanagar Steel fell, in response to the swap ratio for the restructuring proposal announced earlier this week. The swap ratio allows Jisco shareholders to exchange every share for 16 shares in Jindal Vijayanagar Steel.

Apollo Tyres registered a 3.3 per cent gain during the day's trading to close at Rs 255.3. i-flex Solutions also beat the bearish sentiment towards technology stocks, to post an increase of 1.1 per cent. The stock closed at Rs 693.2.

The i-flex stock appears to have benefited from its recent inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International's Index, which serves as an emerging market benchmark for institutional investors.

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