The Hindu Business Line : Bank, auto & pharma stocks lead the day's fall

It was yet another day of blood on the street, with both the bellwether indices ending deep in the red. The sensitive index, after trading sideways for most part of the day, pared gains to close with a loss of about 168 points. Though the Sensex breached the crucial 14k-level during the day, it managed to close a tad above it. The Nifty, followed suit and shed about 1.4 per cent.

Sentiment, evidently, continued to be weak, marked by a market breadth skewed in the favour of the bears. The advance-decline ratio was pegged at about 1:2. However, the total turnover in the market was high, following the expiry of the current month derivative contracts.

With all the BSE sectoral indices ending in negative territory, it seemed like the bears had cast their spell on the market. Banks, auto and pharma stocks led the day's fall, while mid-cap stocks too, played a modest role in the day's downfall.

New listing

Firstsource Solutions, the BPO company had a debut listing on Thursday. Notwithstanding a weak market, the stock managed to list at a premium of 17 per cent at Rs 75 against its issue price of Rs 64 per share.

Buzzing stocks

JM Financial notched up quick gains on reports that it planned to sell its 49 per cent stake in JM Morgan Stanley Securities for $445 million (about Rs 98 crore). The stock after extending gains of about 18 per cent, closed with a modest 3.5 per cent gain for the day. Following a healthy earnings report, SKF India, notched up gains of about 2.8 per cent. Among other stocks that moved northwards were Rolta India, Jindal Saw, Visual Soft and IndusInd Bank.

Jain Irrigation, Financial Eyes, Aptech and Zee News were among stocks that hit their all-time new high during the day's session.

Sector focus

Cements stocks pared gains on concerns that the Government might curtail exports to keep the prices in control. Among the major losers were Grasim Industries, ACC and Gujarat Ambuja Cements. The Government had last month removed import levies on Portland cement to lower manufacturing costs after inflation had reached a two-year high.

Click here for table

Selling in select pharma stocks led to the weak closing of the BSE Healthcare index. Ranbaxy shed close to 3.8 per cent. The stock has declined for the second day in a row. The probability of an equity dilution if Ranbaxy were to acquire Merck's generic drugs business could be attributed to the fall. Other stocks that closed in the red were Glenmark Pharma, Divi's Laboratory, Dr. Reddy's and Matrix Labs.

Auto stocks shifted to reverse gear on the back of selling pressure. While Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and M&M moved southwards, Maruti Udyog closed with a loss of about 2.38 per cent. In another event during the day, the Union Government invited bids to divest its entire stake in Maruti.

Banks stocks, in continuation of its three-day losing streak, witnessed selling across the board. Among stocks that registered losses of about 4 per cent were Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Union Bank, PNB and Oriental Bank.

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