The Hindu Business Line : Firm oil price dampens market sentiment

The buoyant mood witnessed in the early hours of the trading session could not be sustained, as the unabated rise in oil prices put a dampener on positive sentiment.

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The BSE Sensex opened on a strong note at 5,764 points ands traded in a narrow range in the positive territory for most of the trading session. The mood turned bearish towards the later hours, however, with the benchmark index shedding 40 points to close at 5,717.54, down 0.70 per cent from its previous close of 5,757.93 points.

On the NSE, the S&P CNX Nifty declined by 10 points to close at 1,807.75 points.

Technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure. Cement stocks however, managed to look up, even as most stocks took a knock. Of the 30-share Sensex, only eight stocks advanced, while 21 declined, underscoring the negative sentiment.

The stocks of Bharti Tele-Ventures and HDFC were the only gainers of note, appreciating by 2.21 per cent and 1.89 per cent. The stocks of Tata Motors, Tata Power, ICICI Bank and Ranbaxy figured in the losers list.

Earnings announcements: MphasiS BFL announced its September quarter results on Monday. Despite reporting a 24 per cent rise in profits, the stock of the company declined by Rs 25.1 or about 8 per cent to close at Rs 300.15. This could perhaps be because the results were below investors' expectations.

The company reported a drop in profits on a sequential basis, owing to a substantial loss on a foreign exchange transaction. The company also reported an increase in wage costs.

The stock of CMC also declined by Rs 45.75 to close at Rs 659.80, even as it declared a 93 per cent rise in profits quarter on quarter. It too saw a decline in earnings compared to the quarter ended June.

Investors appeared to turn cautious in their expectations of earnings of other tech companies as well. The stocks of frontline tech stocks such as Infosys, Satyam, Wipro and TCS also came under selling pressure.

Infosys and TCS are to declare their results on Tuesday; the stocks fell by Rs 14.5 and Rs 10.8 respectively.

The declaration of good numbers notwithstanding, the stocks of Allahabad Bank and India Bulls also declined. The stock of Allahabad Bank, which has been on an up-move over the last week or so, took a breather, even as the bank announced that its profits had more than doubled. The stock closed at Rs 48.85, down Rs 2.15 from its previous close.

India Bulls, in its first quarterly result announcement post its listing on the bourses, also announced a more than 100 per cent increase in profits for the quarter ending September. The stock gained 10 per cent immediately after the announcement. It could, however, not withstand the selling bout, and declined marginally by Rs 0.45 to close at Rs 31.45.

The stock of Samtel gained marginally to close at Rs 78.7. The company posted a nearly five-fold growth in profits in the quarter ended September.

Another stock that gained on Monday was Wockhardt, rising by Rs 3.6 to close at Rs 331.7, on the back of reports that it was close to buying out a German-based drug maker Temmler Pharma.

In terms of sector preferences, cement stocks were in favour; the stocks of Grasim, Gujarat Ambuja, ACC and India Cements perked up. The cement stocks appear to have attracted some attention following reports of strong despatch numbers during September. The stock of Grasim and Gujarat Ambuja gained Rs 5.40 and Rs 6.15 respectively.

Other stocks that gained include Kakatiya Cement, Hindustan Dorr-Oliver, KRBL, Peral Global, EID Parry and Himatsingka Seide.

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