The Hindu Business Line : Selling pressure makes it hard for software stocks

SELLING pressures engulfed the market for the second successive trading session, as the Sensex closed below 6400 points during the day. The Sensex shed 82.02 points to close for the day at 6397.52, after touching a high of 6444.33 and a low of 6382.13 points.

While there was across-the-board selling in blue chips, the biggest losers were the software stocks, ahead of the earnings season for frontline stocks starting with Infosys Technologies on April 14.

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The markets undertone remained distinctly weak reflected by the trading volumes and advances to declines ratio. The advances to declines ratio stood at 0.57, with 838 stocks appreciating in value, while 1,465 stocks logged declines.

Practically all the BSE indices ended in the negative territory, with the BSE - IT and the BSE - oil and gas losing more than the benchmark. The sectoral indices that were relatively less affected by the bearishness were metals, FMCG, healthcare and auto.

The S&P CNX Nifty also shed 23 points to close for the day at 2008.20 points. While Nifty Junior and CNX Midcap 200 also ended in the red, the fall in the Midcap 200 was relatively lower than the Nifty and Nifty Junior.

Among the prominent gainers in the Nifty were Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, ABB and Dabur.

The significant losers were National Aluminium, Satyam Computers, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys Technologies and ICICI Bank. In the Nifty Junior, the key gainers were Siemens, Kotak Bank, Aventis Pharma, TVS Motors and Bharat Electronics. The prominent losers were Polaris, Lupin, Nicholas Piramal, Apollo Tyres and Canara Bank.

Outside the benchmark indices, the significant gainers during the day were Igarashi Motors, Alstom, Gruh Finance, VXL Instruments, Wartsila, Vaibhav Gems, Essar Steel and Crisil.

The Igarashi Motors stock appreciated by Rs. 29.50 (or 19.97 per cent) to close for the day at Rs. 177.20. The trading volumes in the stock surged from 4917 shares on Friday's trading to 1.21 lakh shares during the day. The uptrend has to be seen in the light of approval from the shareholders at the EGM on April 7 for the allotment of equity shares and optionally convertible warrants to Aeneas Evolution Portfolio.

The Alstom stock sustained its momentum set last week, with the stock appreciating by Rs. 19.5 (or 17.8 per cent) to close for the week at Rs. 128.75. The trading volumes surged from 6.93 lakh shares on Friday to 17.76 lakh shares during the day's trading. The rise in the stock price has been triggered by the French energy major Areva SA's plan to acquire an equity stake in the company

The Gruh Finance stock was another prominent gainer with the stock gaining Rs. 6.4 (or 13.8 per cent) to settle for the day at Rs. 52.5. Compared to 12489 shares traded on Friday, the trading volumes in the stock rose to 3.57 lakh shares during the day.

The Crisil stock appreciated by Rs. 40.65 (or 5.7 per cent) to close at Rs 745.65. Compared to 576 shares traded on Friday, the trading volumes in the company shot up to 42,500 shares during the day. The stock price has quickly moved up following the announcement of a revision in the offer price by Standard and Poor from Rs. 680 to Rs. 775 per share. The offer has opened on April 6 and closes on April 25.

Among the prominent losers were software stocks such as Aztec Software, Geodesic, Megasoft, Sonata Software, Polaris and Encore Software. The other losers are Vesuvius India, construction stocks such as Gammon India and IVRCL Infrastructure, Bajaj Hindusthan, Arvind Mills and Hindustan Oil Exploration.

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