Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Oct 25, 2005 |
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Markets
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Commentary Columns - Sensor Sensex hits 7-week low Radhika Kamath
BEARS were back in action on Monday as markets recorded a significant slide. All-round selling triggered by disappointing results by banks along with a concern of a possible hike in repo rate in the Credit Policy to be announced on Tuesday dampened the market sentiment. Sensex, which has shed over 300 points in the past one month, closed at its seven-week low at 7920.8.The broader Nifty slid by 48.9 points to 2394.8 at close. Banking sector stocks were battered down severely following disappointing numbers by Canara Bank, Union Bank and Oriental Bank. Mirroring the losses in these stocks, the BSE BANKEX and the Bank Nifty closed 1.8 and 2.0 per cent lower respectively. SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Punjab National Bank also ended on a poor note. IT stocks, after witnessing a strong buying support on Friday, got hammered badly. Profit-booking in Wipro, TCS, Infosys, Ramco, Polaris and i-flex dragged the stock prices down. Geometric Software, which recorded a 46 per cent dip in its Q2 pofits, was down by 3.3 per cent. Disappointing numbers by the domestic drug major Ranbaxy along with concerns of rising competition and falling margins in the US generics market sent jitters in the market as guarded investors booked profits. Leading the losers' pack was Ranbaxy, which slipped by 8.8 per cent. Others that closely followed included the likes of Dr Reddy's, Biocon, Sun Pharma, Divi's Lab, Solvay Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Novartis and Cipla among others. On a day marked by a high degree of selling, stocks in the oil refinery and cement sectors remained firm. Fresh buying interest across the counters of ACC, Gujarat Ambuja, Grasim, Shree Cement and Prism Cement helped the stocks sport smart gains. Most stocks in the FMCG space succumbed to selling pressure. Dabur India, which reported a 21 per cent rise in Q2 profits and announced interim dividend along with a bonus issue failed to cheer the market. The stock closed 2.1 per cent lower. Metals stocks, which have been hit badly over the last few weeks, continued with their lacklustre performance. Stocks of Hindalco, Tata Steel, Ispat, Jindal Stainless, National Aluminium, SAIL, JSW Steel and Kalyani Steel came in for sharp selling pressure. There were a good number of stocks in the mid-cap and small-cap space that exhibited resilience in a volatile market. Berger Paints, Pantaloon Retail, Sundaram Clayton, Britannia, Monsanto, Gujarat Alkalies, GTC Industries and Tata Coffee netted off handsome gains.
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