Comments
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex ended the session flat today due to selling by funds and retail investors in realty, healthcare, auto and metal stocks amid a firm trend in the global markets.
At 3.30 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 2.92 points or 0.02 per cent at 17,559.69 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 0.25 points or 0.00 per cent at 5,283.95.
Volume toppers during the session were SBI, RIL, Tata Motors, Infosys and ICICI Bank. Major Sensex losers were ICICI Bank, HDFC, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Jindal Steel and DLF. HDFC Bank, Infosys and SBI were the major gainers.
Among the sectoral indices, realty was down 1.49 per cent, healthcare 0.64 per cent, auto 0.22 per cent and metal 0.16 per cent. Consumer durables was up 0.9 per cent, oil & gas 0.13 per cent, power 0.13 per cent and IT 0.1 per cent. Of the total 2,955 stocks traded, 1,421 advanced, 1,408 declined and 126 remained unchanged.
Keeping up with expectations, the markets opened up by almost 0.2 per cent on Tuesday. The Indian markets were closed on Monday. The BSE Sensex opened up by about 31 points at 17,593.67, while the NSE Nifty opened up by 10.25 points at 5,294.45.
All of the US market indices ended the day in green, up by around one per cent each on Monday. Except for the Japanese indices, all the other Asian markets were trading in the green at the time of opening of the Indian markets. All of the European markets were down on Monday, except for the Italian Bourse — FTSE MIB Index — which was up by 1.3 per cent.
“Earlier Asian market swung between gains and losses ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote in Italy that will show whether Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has enough support to stay in power and implement austerity measures,” said a report from SMC Global Securities.
Nymex Crude was up by 0.1 per cent to $95.65 per barrel. Gold was also up by 0.1 per cent to $1,793.70 per ounce.
PTI adds:
US stocks staged a late rally yesterday on reports that Greece’s International Monetary Fund representative might be chosen as its new prime minister, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.71 per cent at 12,068.39.
With the IMF a key player in Greece’s rescue, the former Finance Minister, Mr Panagiotis Roumeliotis, would be well placed to ensure the bailout progresses steadily and to restore market trust in Greece and the eurozone.
But “the focus is shifting to Italy from Greece as expected,” said Mr Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
Lower investor confidence in Italy has sent its bond prices lower and yields sharply upwards. Yields on the country’s 10-year government bonds pushed above 6.6 per cent yesterday for the first time since the introduction of the euro.
“It’s difficult to digest the mixed situation,” Mr Okumura said, referring to the concern over Italy and expectations that Greece would receive its bailout money.
European Union finance ministers are expected to sign off on Greece’s sixth bailout loan tranche at a meeting later in the day.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.