Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Aug 21, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Aug 21, 2004 |
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Stock Markets Markets - Commentary Columns - Sensor Sensex plunges into negative territory Shanthi Venkataraman
THE markets ended the week on a negative note as concerns regarding rising crude oil process continue to be a dampener on investor sentiment. The negative sentiment towards oil stocks spilled over to most of the other sectors as well. Select cement stocks and technology stocks appear to have been in favour. The BSE Sensex declined by 59 points or 1.15 per cent to close at 5064.66 points. Leading the fall was the stock of Reliance, which declined by 12 points to close at Rs 463. The Nifty fell by about 19 points or 1.17 per cent to close at 1590.35 points, down from its previous close of 1609.20 points. The broader indices appeared to have withstood the selling pressure relatively better, with the CNX 500 and CNX Midcap 200 declining by about 0.95 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively. The Sensex opened at 5128 points, slightly higher than its previous close. The mood in the markets, however, quickly turned bearish, with the Sensex plunging into the negative territory, where it remained till the close of the session. The advance-decline ratio reflected the bearish sentiment, with only four stocks out of the 30 comprising the benchmark index reporting an appreciation in value. Among the other indices, the BSE Bankex reported the sharpest fall, declining by 1.36 per cent. The stocks of J&K Bank and IOB each declined by more than 2 per cent. Frontline banking companies such as ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank also fell by more than 1 per cent. Index gainers and losers: The stocks of Wipro, Infosys, Hindalco, Grasim and Dabur emerged as the gainers for the day, while Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Maruti, Reliance and Tata Power were the major losers. The stock of Infosys remains on the upmove, notching up by about 10 points to close at Rs 1547. The company's banking solution product, Finacle, has been adopted by SBI for its international operations. Oil stocks lead declines: The positive sentiment that was witnessed in the oil counters on Thursday's trading, following the cut in import and Customs duty rate for oil and diesel appears to have been short-lived. With crude oil prices mounting to nearly touch the $49 mark, investors turned bearish, selling the stocks of HPCL, BPCL, ONGC and MRPL. The stock of Kochi Refinery and Chennai Petroleum, however, bucked the prevailing trend, posting gains. Cement stocks shine: Cement stocks continue to be in the limelight for the second consecutive trading session, with stocks of Mysore Cement, Prism Cement, Mangalam Cement and Madras Cement, gaining smartly. The stocks of ACC and Gujarat Ambuja Cement remained in the red. Pharma stocks, a mixed bag: A good number of pharma stocks were out of favour, particularly those of leading players such as Ranbaxy, Dr Reddys, Sun Pharma and Nicholas Piramal. The stocks of Glenmark Pharma, Kopran, Natco Pharma and Lupin gained. These stocks have figured quite often on the gainers list in the past couple of weeks. Other stocks that caught the fancy of the market include, Kolar Biotech, Strides Arcolab, JK Synthetics, Sesa Goa and Orchid Chemicals. Company announcements: The markets did not react positively to developments on the corporate front. The stock of i-flex for instance, remained flat, even as it declared a dividend of Rs 3.50 per share. The stock of Ashok Leyland declined marginally even as the company has declared a 75 per cent dividend. The stock of Sterlite Industries fell by Rs 12 to close at Rs 522. Vedanta Resources of the Sterlite group, is to acquire a 51 per cent controlling stake in Konkola Copper mines in Zambia for a cash consideration of $ 48.2 million. This would expose Sterlite to copper production. The stock of Madhucon projects declined by Rs 8 to close at Rs 184, even as it declared a dividend of 15 per cent for FY04.
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