The Hindu Business Line : Ranbaxy Labs, Cipla, HDFC Bank buck trend

As political concerns came to the fore, there was broad-based selling in the markets. Towards the close of the trading day, the Sensex had shed 213.3 points (or 3.60 per cent) to settle at 5712.28 points. It had opened for the day at 5868.33 points, which was also the high for the day, touched a low of 5704.28 points, before inching up marginally at close.

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Out of the 30-share Sensex, 27 stocks logged declines; only three advanced in value. The three gainers were Ranbaxy Laboratories, HDFC Bank and Cipla.

The broad-based decline in the markets was also evident from the BSE 200 and BSE 500 Index, which fell by 4.06 per cent and 4.24 per cent, respectively. Practically all the sectoral indices plunged into the red, with the big losers being the BSE PSU Index, which shed 4.98 per cent, the BSE Banking Index (3.82 per cent), the BSE Consumer Durables (3.98 per cent) and the BSE - IT (3.46 per cent).

Both the S&P CNX Nifty and the CNX Nifty Junior suffered a similar fate. While the Nifty declined by 3.97 per cent to close at 1817.25 points, the Nifty Junior fell by 4.89 per cent to settle at 3652.25 points.

The bloodbath in the Nifty was evident from the top six losers: Shipping Corporation of India, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Steel Authority of India, IPCL, Tata Steel and Hindalco which shed over 7 per cent in value. A similar trend was revealed by the Nifty Junior where the top losers were Andhra Bank (10.9 per cent), Syndicate Bank (10.86 per cent), Union Bank of India (10.84 per cent), Bank of India (10.46 per cent) and Bongaigaon Refinery (9.28 per cent).

Among the significant gainers during the day were Krone Communications, Nucleus Software, Swil, Subros, Amforge Industries, Mascon Global, Thiru Arooran Sugars, Dishman Pharma and e-Serve International.

The Krone Communications stock appreciated by Rs 17.45 (or 18.7 per cent) to close for the day at Rs 110.35. Trading volumes in the stock surged from 9,682 shares on Friday's trading to 66,403 shares during the day. It may be recalled that in end-March, Krone had intimated that GenTek Inc, USA (the indirect parent of India-based Krone Communications), which owns the Krone Group business, had decided to sell its Krone Group business to ADC Telecommunications, USA.

Jumping on to the bonus bandwagon, the Nucleus Software stock appreciated by Rs 13.55 (or 15.7 per cent) to close for the day at Rs 99.85. Trading volumes in the stock soared over five-fold to 22,882 shares during the day from 4,185 shares on Friday. The company recommended a 1:1 bonus and 25 per cent dividend on Monday.

Mascon Global witnessed heightened market activity, with the stock inching up by Rs 0.25 to close at Rs 14.3. Trading volumes witnessed a 13-fold jump to 1.25 lakh shares during the day from 9,180 shares on Friday's trading. The heightened volumes has to be seen in light of reports that the company had raised $19.5 million through a 10 per cent private placement with Americorp, a fund promoted by an NRI investor.

The Swil stock rode on robust trading volumes, inching by Rs 1 to close at Rs 11.06. Compared with 41,056 shares traded on Friday, volumes increased to 53,367 shares during the day.

Among the losers were Majestic Auto, Torrent Gujarat, Gujarat NRE Coke, Dena Bank, Prism Cement, UCO Bank, Essar Shipping and Bank of Punjab.