Closing Bell - 29/06/2009

Key indices ended on a flat note Monday as traders initiated profit booking in frontline stocks towards end of session. Metals, realty and oil & gas provided support while IT and FMCG stocks ended in red.

NSE Nifty closed at 4386.90, up 11.40 points or 0.26 per cent. The broader index touched an intra-day high of 4439.95 and low of 4350.90.

BSE Sensex ended at 14772.86, up 8.22 points or 0.06 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 14955.55 and low of 14685.45 in trade so far.

Gainers on Nifty were Jindal Steel (6.19%), Sterlite Industries (5.59%), Axis Bank (5.46%), DLF (3.9%) and SAIL (3.83%).

Losers comprised Tata Motors (-8.01%), Suzlon Energy (-5.3%), Sun Pharmaceuticals (-3.53%), Tata Consultancy Services (-3.1%) and Idea Cellular (-2.64%).

Market Breadth on BSE remained positive with 1675 advances against 972 declines.

(All figures are provisional)

Sensex sees third-biggest fall of the year

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday suffered the third-biggest fall of the year and ended below the 15,000 level by losingnearly 438 points on weak Asian and European trends, as investors booked profits on an 88 per cent rally since early March.

The Sensex, after completing 13 successive weeks of gains, suffered a loss of 437.63 points to 14,665.92 as metal, banking and realty stocks suffered hefty losses. The fall was the third-highest after those of January 7 and March 30.

In a similar fashion, the 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 157.00 points to 4,429.90, breaking a psychological 4,600 level. Only information technology stocks were in positive territory following a firming dollar, raising hopes of better revenue. Over 50 per cent of the country's software export revenue comes from the US markets.

Marketmen said the steep rise of 88 per cent in the market was overdone and attracted profit-selling by funds and retail investors. They said the selling was more confined to sectors which had recorded handsome gains in recent times.

The major puller to the market were heavy-weight stocks like Sterlite Industries, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Reliance Communications, Reliance Infra, Jaiprakash Associates, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India.

(Source: ET)

Stocks ranged; M&M, Bharti gain

MUMBAI: The market remained rangebound in afternoon trade. Short covering was witnessed particularly in realty and metal counters ahead of the F&O expiry. Inflation data did not offer any negative surprises which helped maintain the upbeat sentiment.

The wholesale price index rose 0.61 percent in the 12 months to May 16, matching the previous week's annual rise, government data showed.

At 12:30 pm, BSE Sensex was trading at 14,272.59, higher by 1.15 per cent or 162.95 points. The index touched a high of 14,308.47 and low of 14,078.62. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty climbed 1.09 per cent or 46.65 points to 4322.70. The index touched a high of 4330.40 and low of 4254.85 in trade so far.

Secondline stocks were trading higher as well. BSE Midcap Index climbed 0.28 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index rose 0.14 per cent. Sectorwise, BSE Capital Goods advanced 1.89 per cent, followed by BSE Metals up 1.38 per cent and BSE Oil & Gas up 1.33 per cent. Biggest Sensex gainers comprised Mahindra & Mahindra (4.29%), Bharti Airtel (3.26%), Larsen & Toubro (3.19%), ACC (2.39%) and Reliance Industries (2.16%). Tata Motors (-3.36%), Reliance Infrastructure (-2.5%), Hindalco Industries (-0.86%) and Jaiprakash Associates (-0.39%) were the losers. Market breadth on BSE showed 1613 advanced against 930 declines.

(Source : ET)