The Hindu Business Line : Selling in index stocks leaves markets subdued

THE earthquake that was felt in parts of Mumbai may have well given the jitters to investors. The negative sentiment, which was witnessed on Friday, spilled over to Monday's trading, with the markets closing yet again in the red.

Selling pressure in index heavyweights Hindustan Lever, ICICI Bank and Reliance dragged the benchmark indices down. The BSE Sensex declined by about 44 points or 0.64 per cent to close at 6,810.04 points. The S&P CNX Nifty ended the day at 2,146.35, down eight points from its previous close. Select technology and metals stocks, however, managed to elicit buying interest.

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The Sensex opened almost flat, at 6,854.92 points. Almost immediately, it plunged into the negative territory, where it remained range bound for most of the session. A brief spurt in buying took the index to a high of 6,882.32 points. The index then fell steeply to a low of 6,794 points, before it recovered and closed at 6,810 points. The advance-decline ratio revealed that only one in five stocks advanced, underscoring the bearish sentiment.

The stocks of Hero Honda and Hindalco were prominent gainers among the Sensex constituents, logging gains of 1.8 and 1.5 per cent respectively. The stock of Hindustan Lever saw a sharp decline, falling more than three per cent to close at Rs 138.60. The stock of Bharti Tele-Ventures was another notable loser. The stock fell Rs 3.30 or 1.5 per cent to close at 222.15. Warburg Pincus has sold a stake, amounting to approximately 5 per cent in Bharti for $ 560 million.

The highlight of the day's trading session was the much-awaited listing of Jet Airways. As the only listed airline in the aviation sector, the stock was expected to attract a premium, despite apprehensions that it may have been stiffly valued. The stock opened at Rs 1,211, a 10 per cent premium over its offer price of Rs 1,100. The stock climbed up to Rs 1,339, before settling at Rs 1,305, an 18.5 per cent listing premium.

Steel stocks continued to be in the limelight, although second-rung stocks saw most of the action. Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel and Uttam Galva Steel were among the prominent gainers.

IT stocks were in favour. The stock of Infosys gained Rs 11.1 to close at Rs 2,226.15. TCS, Geometric Solutions, HCL Tech and Tata Infotech were some of the other stocks that gained.

Stocks and news: The stock of MphasiS BFL also gained, following the announcement of its acquiring Eldorado Computing, a US-based healthcare benefits management solutions firm, for $16.5 million, in an all-cash deal. The stock gained Rs 2.35 or one per cent to close at Rs 536.90.

The stock of Nestle appreciated 1.5 per cent to close at Rs 624.25 on the back of a 68 per cent growth in profits during its fourth quarter. The company has also declared a dividend of Rs 4.5 per share.

The stock of Era Construction gained Rs 4.2 or 7.2 per cent to close at Rs 62.3. The company has been awarded a contract worth Rs 10.2 crore.

The stock of Solectron Centum Electronics soared 6.1 per cent to close at Rs 198.8. The company has signed a contract worth $20 million with ABB for export of printed circuit board assemblies.

The stock of Nagarjuna Construction was up 2.3 per cent on the back of its announcement that it had secured orders aggregating to Rs 212 crore.

The stock of Sri Adhikari Brothers Television slumped nearly six per cent to close at Rs 108.3. The company is to sell its SAB TV brand, 1300 hours of programming and other assets to SET (Singapore) for Rs 57 crore. It would now concentrate on its core business of content production.

Other stocks that figured on the loser's list include Indian Hotels, Trent, Kalpataru Power and Alfa-Laval, to name a few.

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