Sell on rallies is the rule for now
The market settled lower on extensive selling in blue chips and cautiousness ahead of the release of India’s first quarter GDP data. Yesterday we had mentioned that the bourses may see a bounce back. Currently the market is highly oversold. A small correction may soon be round the corner, however, the market is headed lower. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw a lower volume of 58.18 crore shares and the advance decline was520:1154.
The market opened almost unchanged from its previous close on indecisive global cues. Markets in the US closed flat overnight on mixed economic data while those in Asia sere mixed in morning trade today ahead of the central bankers’ meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming later this week. Back home, the Nifty opened nine points up at 5,344 and the Sensex started the day at 17,651, up 19 points over its previous close.
The benchmarks hit their highs in opening trade itself with the Nifty going up to 5,346 and the Sensex crawling up to 17,654. However, the gains were short-lived as the indices slipped into the negative in subsequent trade on pressure from IT, FMCG and metal stocks.
The market continued its downward journey in the noon session on a weak opening of the European markets on concerns about the slowing global growth. Sustained selling in blue chips became more rampant as only eight of the 30 Sensex stock were trading in the green in the second half of the trading session.
The benchmarks fell to their intraday low in the last half hour with the Nifty going down to 5,283 and the Sensex dropping to 17,471.
Select buying in the last leg of trade saw the indices closing off the lows, but in the red for the fourth day in a row. The Nifty declined 47 points (0.88%) to 5,288 and the Sensex dropped 141points (0.80%) to finish at 17,491.
Among the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap index declined 0.54% and the BSE Small-cap index dropped 0.85%.
BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods (up 0.57%) and BSE Healthcare (up 0.27%) were the only gainers in the sectoral space. The top losers were BSE Realty (down 3.08%); BSE Metal (down 1.79%); BSE Auto (down 1.37%); BSE Oil & Gas (down 1.12%) and BSE Capital Goods (down 1.10%).
Tata Power (up 0.87%); ITC, Maruti Suzuki (up 0.50% each); Jindal Steel (up 0.31%) and Wipro (up 0.28%) emerged as the top gainers on the Sensex. On the other hand, Sterlite Industries (down 4.69%); Bajaj Auto (down 3.96%); Hero MotoCorp (down 3.30%); BHEL (down 2.89%) and Hindalco Industries (down 2.72%) settled at the bottom.
The top two A Group gainers on the BSE were—Wockhardt (up 6.74%) and Welspun Corp (up 5.90%).
The top two A Group losers on the BSE were—Jaiprakash Associates (down 9.23%) and Manappuram Finance (down 7.90%).
The top two B Group gainers on the BSE were—Sanghi Industries (up 20%) and Fintech Communications (down 19.09%).
The top two B Group losers on the BSE were—Blue Chip India (down 15.28%) and Landmarc Leisure Corporation (down 12.82%).
The key gainers on the Nifty were Tata Power (up 1.07%); Ambuja Cement (up 0.67%); Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.62%); Jindal Steel (up 0.60%) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 0.46%). The main losers were Jaiprakash Associates (down 9.58%); SAIL (down 6.28%); Sesa Goa (down 5.70%); DLF (down 5.16%) and Sterlite Ind (down 4.75%).
The Asian pack settled mixed on nervousness as the crucial central bankers’ meeting in Jackson Hole draws near. Investors are focused on US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s comments that would signal fresh stimulus to prop the sagging US economy. Meanwhile, German chancellor Angela Merkel is set to make a trip to China later this week in a bid to gain assurances from the top Asian economy that it will support the Eurozone by buying the bonds of its stricken southern members.
The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.96%; the Hang Seng slipped 0.12%; the Jakarta Composite tanked 1.20% and the KLSE Composite shed 0.09%. Among the gainers, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.40%; the Straits Times added 0.05%; the Seoul Composite climbed 0.64% and the Taiwan Weighted rose 0.40%.
At the time of writing, the three key European markets were down between 0.45% and 0.67% and the US stocks futures were marginally in the red.
Back home, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of shares totalling Rs93.09 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors were net sellers of stocks amounting to Rs314.40 crore.
Strides Arcolab’s wholly-owned arm Onco Therapies has received US health regulator’s approval to market generic topotecan hydrochloride injection, a cancer drug, in the American market. Topotecan is a chemotherapy drug usually given to treat ovarian cancer, small-cell lung cancer and advanced cervical cancer. The stock fell 0.38% to close at Rs830 on the NSE.
McNally Bharat Engineering Company today said it has bagged a Rs122 crore contract from Steel Authority of India’s Bhilai Steel Plant. The contract is for external water system for mills and fire water pumphouse. McNally Bharat lost 0.06% to close at Rs90.20 on the NSE.
Public sector lender Vijaya Bank has tied up with SIDBI-promoted India SME Asset Reconstruction Company (ISARC) to tackle the issue of mounting bad loans in the banking system. Under the agreement, ISARC will act as a resolution-cum-enforcement agent for the bank for the resolution of its non performing assets. ISARC is in the process of execution of similar agreements with other public sector banks. Vijaya Bank declined 2.18% to close at Rs47.10 on the NSE.
