The Hindu Business Line : Sugar, tea stocks shine on third day of weak sentiment

THE markets extended their losing streak to the third straight day. Weak sentiment has ruled since Wednesday, when the 10,000 mark eluded the markets.

Opening on a weak note, the bellwether indices moved flat until the final hour of the session, when the markets drifted further into the red. Around this time the Sensex hit an intra-day low of 9,714 points. It later closed at 9,742.58 points, recording a drop of 102 points. It is for the first time since January 10 that the index has dropped by more than one per cent.

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Moving in sync with the Sensex, the Nifty closed lower by 0.9 per cent before touching an intra-day low of 2,931.85. The bearish sentiment that ruled the markets could be gauged from the advances-declines ratio, which was tipped in favour of the losers at 8:11.

A decline of more than 0.9 per cent in the FMCG, IT, metals, and oil and gas oriented indices on the BSE further underlined the bearish sentiment.

FMCG and IT sectors drew in some special interest from the bears. Twelve stocks of the 14 that constitute the FMCG index on the BSE recorded losses, with Colgate-Palmolive and Nestle being the odd ones out.

Leading the losers in this sector were Jindal Photo, Lakhani India, Marico, P&G, Crew B.O.S. and Godrej Consumer.

Major losers in the IT sector were PSI Data Systems, Spanco Telesystems, i-Flex, Ramco Systems, 3i Infotech and Datamatics Technologies, all of which fell by more than 2.5 per cent. Prominent stocks that bucked the trend were Hexaware, Kale Consultants and Micro Technologies.

A mixed pattern prevailed in the cigarettes sector. ITC, Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries shed more than two per cent each. GTC Industries, which ramped up sharp gains in January, managed to close with a marginal gain.

A similar trend was evident in the alcoholic beverages sector, with McDowell & Co., Shaw Wallace and Tilak Nagar Industries shedding value even as United Breweries closed in the green.

A predominantly bullish sentiment prevailed in the tea sector. Major gainers in this sector included Williamson Tea Assam, McLeod Russel, Harrisons Malayalam, Goodricke and Dhunseri. Tata Tea, which lost about two per cent, was the only prominent loser.

This sentiment, however, was kept at bay in the coffee sector as interest in Tata Coffee and CCL Products appeared to have weakened on the back of 12 per cent and four per cent earnings growth during the third quarter.

Sugar stocks cornered a large portion of market interest. Supported by a sharp rise in volumes, the sector saw across-the-board gains.

Prominent gainers were Balrampur Chini, Dhampur Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar, Oudh Sugar, Rajshree, Renuka, Sakthi Sugar, Thiru Arooran and EID Parry.

Many of these stocks have been recording sharp gains since the beginning of November. Bannari Amman bucked the trend while Bajaj Hindustan closed on a flat note.

A similar pattern prevailed in the caustic soda industry; however, gains were concentrated in a few stocks. Top gainers were Punjab Alkalies, Gujarat Alkalies, Bihar Caustic and Siel. The list also included Andhra Sugars on the NSE, which has interests in sugar.

A subdued positive sentiment prevailed in the PVC industry. Chemplast Sanmar, DCW and Finolex Industries gained more than 1.5 per cent.

Polyplex Corporation continued its losing streak; the stock has lost about 25 per cent since the beginning of January.

Others that recorded declines in the packaging sector were Garware Polyester, Radha Madhav Corporation, Ester Industries and Flex Industries.

Prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents were Jet Airways, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceuticals, GAIL, HPCL, Tata Power and Tata Motors. Among the losers were HDFC, National Aluminium, SAIL, IPCL, ONGC and ACC.