The Nifty could bounce back from today’s lows or from 5,955

The market closed lower on selling in PSU, healthcare and power stocks and on weak global cues. The market is getting oversold. The Nifty could bounce back from today’s lows or from 5,955. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) reported a volume of 65.62 crore shares and advance-decline ratio of 539:990.

The market opened firm tracking positive trends in the Asian pack which was higher in morning trade. The Asian markets received a boost from strong macro-economic indicators from the US over the weekend.

The Nifty opened 26 points higher at 6,025 and the Sensex started off at 19,861, up 80 points over its previous close. Buying in auto and banking shares lifted the benchmarks to their day’s high in early trade. At the highs, the Nifty touched 6,039 and the Sensex climbed to 19,903.

A minor bout of profit booking saw the market paring part of its early gains. The indices were range-bound in subsequent trade. Selling pressure in PSU, healthcare, oil & gas and power stocks resulted in the benchmarks losing momentum in noon trade. A quiet opening of the European indices led the domestic market lower in post-noon trade.

The market dropped to its intraday low in the last hour of trade as selling intensified. At the lows, the Nifty fell to 5,981 and the Sensex went down to 19,728.

The market settled near the lows and down for the third day in a row. The Nifty lost 12 points (0.19%) to 5,987 and the Sensex dipped 30 points (0.15%) to settle at 19,751.

The broader indices underperformed the Sensex today as the BSE Mid-cap index dropped 0.83% and the BSE Small-cap index declined 0.71%.

With the exception of the BSE Auto index (up 0.47%), all others settled lower. The top losers were BSE PSU (down 1.56%); BSE Healthcare (down 1.40%); BSE Power (down 1.36%); BSE Oil & Gas (down 1.12%) and BSE Metal (down 1.11%).

Ten of the 30 stocks on the Sensex closed in the positive. The chief gainers were HDFC (up 2.49%); Tata Motors (up 2.40%); ICICI Bank (up 0.94%); Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.61%) and TCS (up 0.46%). The main losers were BHEL (down 2.73%); Cipla (down 2.64%); State Bank of India (down 2.41%); Tata Power (down 2.29%) and ONGC (down 2.08%).

The top two A Group gainers on the BSE were—Godrej Consumer Products (up 5.14%) and Rural Electrification Corporation (up 4.69%).

The top two A Group losers on the BSE were—Bank of Baroda (down 7.50%) and Opto Circuits (down 7.39%).

The top two B Group gainers on the BSE were—Noveau Global Ventures (up 19.90%) and Valuemart Info Technologies (up 19.80%).

The top two B Group losers on the BSE were—Commercial Engineers & Body Builders Company (down 19.98%); and DFM Foods (down 14.43%).

Out of the 50 stocks listed on the Nifty, 16 stocks settled in the positive. The major gainers were Tata Motors (up 3.50%); UltraTech Cement Company (up 3.38%); HDFC (up 2.68%); Asian Paints (up 2.59%) and DLF (up 1.90%).

Markets in Asia closed mostly higher on positive macro-economic indicators from the US and China over the weekend. China’s non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 56.2 in January from 56.1 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said yesterday. However, the Seoul Composite index slipped as subdued earnings reports offset early gains.

The Shanghai Composite gained 0.38%; the Jakarta Composite rose 0.20%; the KLSE Composite advanced 0.43%; the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.62%; the Straits Times rose 0.19% and the Taiwan Weighted surged 0.86%. On the other hand, the Hang Seng lost 0.16% and the Seoul Composite declined 0.23%.

At the time of writing, the CAC 40 of France was down 0.44%; DAX of Germany fell 0.25% and UK’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.37% lower. At the same time, the US stock futures were flat.

Back home, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of shares amounting to Rs763.28 crore on Friday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors were net sellers of equities aggregating Rs1,088.62 crore.

Welspun India (WIL) was ranked first in the Top 15 Supplier Giants (USA) by Home Textiles Today in a recently concluded survey based on its 2011 sales figures. The company was in the second spot last year. As per the survey, refocusing on core competencies helped Welspun report higher volumes and has improved margins in terry towels, towels and rugs. The stock dropped 0.90% to close at Rs77.50 on the NSE.

Construction major Supreme Infrastructure has bagged contracts worth Rs505 crore in five states, including a Rs267 crore contract for building additional office complex for the Supreme Court of India. The stock gained 0.36% to settle at Rs212 on the NSE.

Electrical equipment maker Crompton Greaves (CG) has entered into a pact with New Zealand-based Transpower NZ for supply of transformers, with a potential to supply equipment worth $ 15 million per annum. The transformers are being manufactured at CG's Jakarta, Indonesia facility, the company said in a statement. CG shed 0.09% to settle at Rs106.15 on the NSE.