Back Bears back in action; oil stocks slip further
Vidya Bala
THE determination of the bears to have their way was evident from the beginning of the trading session on Monday. Markets opened on a weak note carrying forward the negative trend of the past week. There appeared to be a brief respite from the negative drift with the Sensitive Index touching an intra-day high of 9397.6. This was, however, short-lived with the bears back in action pulling the index further down.
The Sensex closed at 9311.2 - a decline of 63 points or 0.67 per cent. The S&P CNX Nifty declined 17.5 points to 2833.1.
Net sales by overseas investors appear to have caused concern in the domestic market. FIIs sold Rs 1,029 crore more shares than what they bought on January 12 - the highest net sales in a single day since June 2005.
Infosys and Reliance, two stocks that account for nearly a fifth of the Sensex's weight, pulled the index down. There were, however, other stocks in the basket of BSE 30, which closed in the green.
Reliance Energy, Associated Cement, Larsen & Toubro and Ranbaxy managed to evince buying interest. Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were other stocks that acted as a drag on the index.
The bulls aided cement, sugar and select capital goods stocks. Rajshree Sugar, Renuka Sugar, Balrampur Chini and Sakthi Sugar all ended with smart gains. Dwarikesh Sugar's first quarter profits rose by 35 per cent. The stock rose during the day but ended on a flat note at Rs 240.9.
The capital goods space saw plenty of action. Praj Industries gained 2.8 per cent to Rs 121.8 on the back of bagging an order worth Rs 100 crore from sugar producer Bajaj Hindusthan.
Bharat Heavy Electricals added Rs 15 to Rs 1,477. The company won an order from the Bhilwara Group to supply and commission a power plant in Himachal Pradesh. Atlas Copco, Thermax and Alstom projects also closed in the green.
Even as the BSE Consumer durable index was the biggest loser, select stocks in the segment sparkled. Classic Diamonds, Suashish Diamond and Su-Raj Diamonds gained in the range of 2-3 per cent. Goldiam International, Vaibhav Gems and Titan, however, failed to impress and reflected the broad market sentiments.
Oil stocks slipped further. Hindustan Petroleum, Mangalore Refineries and Chennai Petroleum witnessed selling pressure. ONGC and Indian Oil Corporation, however, weathered challenges and closed with marginal gains.
Pharma stocks were a mixed bag. In the small and mid-cap space, Indoco Remedies surged 7.3 per cent to Rs 384.8. Venus Remedies and Themis Medicare attracted attention. RPG Lifesciences, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Elder Pharma ended with declines.
In the media sector, HT Media hogged the limelight on account of various announcements. The company's third quarter profits almost tripled to Rs 16.3 crore. It plans to invest Rs 39 crore to start a business daily and expand its operations in Madhya Pradesh. The stock gained nearly 2 per cent to close at Rs 473.8. Television 18 and Zee Telefilms were other gainers. Deccan Chronicle, however, succumbed to selling pressure and declined by more than 2 per cent.
Stock-specific action
ABG Shipyard surged 8.1 per cent to Rs.326.9. The company has decided to acquire a ship repair unit in the UAE. It has also won an order worth Rs 275 crore to build ships for ESL Shipping Oy of Finland.
IndusInd Bank lost 1 per cent to Rs 56.6 after third quarter profit declined by 36 per cent.
Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals announced a 26-per cent decline in third-quarter profit. The stock ended lower by 3.3 per cent to Rs.38.6.
Jubilant Organosys added Rs.18.6 to Rs.1175.6. Its third quarter profit grew by 36 per cent. The company's board has also approved a stock split of each share into five.
GE Shipping, Bartronics and Greenply Industries were prominent gainers among the NSE constituents while MTNL, Tata Consultancy Services and IDBI were prominent losers.
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