The Hindu Business Line : Banking, steel stocks lead the plunge

Markets however refused to shed the disappointment over less-than-expected results of companies such as Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies and donned a cautious attitude.

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Final hour of trading saw markets plunge in the red, with the Sensex declining 6.7 points to 9374.2. This is the first weekly loss of the Sensex in the last three weeks.

The index fell 2.8 per cent over the past week. The S&P CNX Nifty also closed flat at 2850.5.

The overall market breath however remained positive, with advances outnumbering the declines in the ratio of 1.1:1. This can be attributed to buying action witnessed in the mid-cap and small-cap space. Stocks in the banking, steel and frontline software segment dragged the indices.

In the basket of BSE 30, ONGC evinced buying interest throughout the day. The stock rose 2.83 per cent to Rs 1,215.5. Bajaj Auto announced its third quarter results towards the close of session.

The company's net profit grew 53 per cent year-on-year. The stock closed with a gain of 1 per cent to Rs 2,012.8. The operating margins also expanded by 290 basis points. ICICI Bank and ITC were other gainers. BHEL, Grasim Industries and HDFC however closed with declines.

Mid-cap indices at the NSE and BSE managed to close in the green, backed by selective buying interest. Centurion, Bank of Punjab, Morarjee Realties and Maharashtra Seamless closed the week in style with gains in the range of 6-9 per cent. Television India 18, Strides Arcolab and Madhucon Projects were prominent losers in the space.

Software stocks saw mixed action. While frontline stocks TCS and Satyam Computer Services ended lower, mid-cap stocks such as Aztec Software, Ramco Systems and Mphasis BFL made smart gains. i-flex Solutions added 1.6 per cent to Rs 2,012.8. The company has won an order from the Citigroup to implement a product that supports `Basel II' processing.

In the oil and gas sector, apart from ONGC, a few other stocks hogged the limelight. GAIL rose 1.1 per cent to Rs 285.8. The company has signed agreements with oil refiner, China Petroleum & Chem Corp to jointly explore oil and gas. Gujarat Gas also posted gains of over 1 per cent. Hindustan Petroleum and Kochi Refineries however succumbed to challenges from the bear.

Cement stocks made concrete gains. UltraTech Cement and Madras Cements posted gains in the range of 3-4 per cent. Indian Cements, Associates Cement and Gujarat Ambuja Cements also rose marginally.

Banking indices ruled weak. Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and HDFC Bank declined due to selling pressure. UTI Bank and ICICI Bank bucked the trend with marginal gains. The third-quarter profits of UTI Bank rose 31 per cent to Rs 132 crore.

Educomp Solutions rose 128 per cent on its trading debut at the Mumbai stock exchange. The share, which was offered at Rs 125, closed at Rs 285.4.

The board of Jet Airways will meet on January 21 to consider an overseas offer of shares or bonds. The stock declined 2.8 per cent to Rs 1,128.

Ponni Sugars, Piramyd Retail and Larsen & Toubro were prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents, while TVS Motor, Financial Technologies and IFB Agro Industries were conspicuous losers.