Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Aug 19, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Aug 19, 2005 |
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Markets
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Commentary Columns - Sensor Profit-booking pushes Sensex into negative zone Radhika Kamath
AFTER two consecutive days of rise, the markets took a break on Thursday. Profit-booking by investors kept the markets volatile throughout the day, which finally ended in negative territory. While the benchmark Sensex was down by 48.2 points, the 50-stock Nifty lost 14.7 points. The markets opened the day on a firm note led by gains in the construction major L&T and HDFC Bank. But they could not sustain the gains, as profit-booking by investors pulled the indices down. Sensex nose-dived by 129.5 points from an intra-day high of 7921.4 to a low of 7791.9. It finally closed at 7811.3, while the Nifty settled down at 2388.5. The undertone in the markets was largely bearish. Seventy per cent of the stocks constituting the BSE 30 declined in value. The mid-cap and small-cap stocks, which witnessed a sharp rally in previous sessions, also failed to hold ground. Among the large-cap stocks that suffered sharp losses were HLL, Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, ONGC, Satyam Computers, Ranbaxy, Tata Steel, ITC, Reliance, Infosys, SBI, Hero Honda, L&T, Maruti and Dr Reddy's. There was across the board selling, which contributed to the downward spiral. Most stocks in the metals, pharma, FMCG, banking, IT, and oil and gas sectors exhibited weakness. Select stocks in the media and cement sectors managed to attract buying interest. Metals stocks, that had a field day on Wednesday, lost sheen on Thursday's trading. Prominent losers were Hindustan Zinc, Jindal South West, Tata steel, Sesa Goa and Bhushan Steel. Few of them who managed to negate the trend were Vesuvius, Lloyd Steel, Southern Iron and Steel, and Indian Seamless. IT stocks also bore the brunt of the selling pressure. Satyam, Infosys, i-Flex, Rolta India and HCL Technologies posted losses. However, selective buying interest in TCS, Wipro, Ramco, Patni Computers and Cranes Software saw them end with respectable gains. It was a disappointing day for most stocks in the capital goods and FMCG space. Alstom, Orient Abrasives and Amforge Industries succumbed to the bear attack. Among the FMCG stocks, CCL Products, Henkel Spic, P&G, Bata and Dabur India recorded significant declines. HLL was down by 2.4 per cent after its unit in Nepal indefinitely suspended operations at its factory after threats from Maoist rebels. Oil and energy stocks also stayed weak. ONGC, BPCL, Hindustan Oil Exploration, HPCL and Kochi Refineries ended in the red. On a day marked by high volatility, most cement stocks stayed resilient. Prism Cement, ACC, India Cement, Mysore Cement and Gujarat Ambuja ruled firm.
Stock-specific action
Asahi India Glass lost 1.3 per cent after the nation's biggest maker of windshields for automobiles said it may have to close its glass factory at Taloja until December on account of damage caused by the floods. HCL Infosystems rose by 2.9 per cent after the company announced a 29 per cent rise in its Q4 profits. M&M gained 1.4 per cent after the country's central bank allowed overseas investors to raise their stake in the company to 49 per cent.
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