Monday 29 September 2008

Battered and bruised

Weakness in metal, oil, and realty stocks took a heavy toll on the market and the Sensex shed 3.87% at close.

The market’s southbound journey continued, as slump in global indices and concerns of a possible recession in the USA made the investors edgy, triggering a major sell-
off. The Sensex started the day on a positive note at 13,109, up seven points and hovered above its last close of 18,114 till the early morning trades. However, a strong bout of selling in afternoon saw the Sensex amass losses of 700 points to touch the day's low of 12,403. The Sensex dropped 3.87% and was down 506 points for the day at 12,596. The Nifty shed 3.39% and was down 135 points at 3,850.

All the 13 sectoral indices were mauled by 1-6% each. The BSE Bankex was the major loser and crashed by 6.02%, followed by the BSE CD (down 5.68%), BSE IT (down 5.47%), BSE Realty (down 5.26%), BSE Power (down 5.22%) and BSE Teck (down 5.13%). The second-rung benchmark indices--BSE mid-cap and BSE small-cap tanked by over 3-4% each.

The market breadth was negative. Of the 2,685 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,287 stocks declined, while only 357 stocks advanced. Fourty one stocks ended unchanged. Except Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), the other 29 stocks that makes the Sensex ended lower. Among the major losers, ICICI Bank crashed by 13.23% at Rs487, Jaiprakash Associates plunged by 11.77% at Rs106.80, Satyam Computer Services slumped 9.30% at Rs292, Tata Consultancy Services crumbled 8.86% at Rs616.55. Tata Power plummeted by 6.75% at Rs920.05, Mahindra & Mahindra dropped 6.69% at Rs495, Reliance Infrastructure shed 6.43% at Rs795 and Reliance Communications tanked 6% at Rs257. Other heavyweights also came under sustained selling pressure and lost 2-5% each. However, HUL gained 0.79% at Rs254.50.

Over 1.41 crore shares of Reliance Natural Resources changed hands on the BSE followed by IFCI (0.89 crore shares), Chambal Fertlisers & Chemicals (0.71 crore shares), Jaiprakash Associates (0.63 crore shares) and ICICI Bank (0.58 crore shares).

In value terms, Reliance Capital registered a turnover of Rs309 crore on the BSE followed by Reliance Industries (Rs299 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs295 crore), Axis Bank (Rs157 crore) and Larsen & Toubro (Rs134 crore).

- Sharekhan

DISCLAIMER: The author is not a registered stockbroker nor a registered advisor and does not give investment advice. His comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to buy or sell a stock, option, future, bond, commodity, index or any other financial instrument at any time. While he believes his statements to be true, they always depend on the reliability of his own credible sources. The author recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction, before making any investment decisions, and that you confirm the facts on your own before making important investment commitments.