Nifty holds on to 5,400; RIL slumps 3%
The Dalal Street made a spectacular recovery in the last hour of trade that erased most of its losses on a day of swinging fortunes. At close, the BSE Sensex stood at 17,971, down 61 points and the Nifty managed to hold on to the 5,400 level despite losing 13 points.
The markets opened lower on the back of weak global stocks. The benchmark indices tracked Asian stocks and trended lower until hitting an intraday low of 17,819 post noon. However, a last hour of recovery trade saw the benchmark indices recoup almost 150 points from the day’s low.
The government said that the country’s GDP in the first quarter grew at 8.8 per cent – the fastest in over two years- but that failed to lift market sentiments.
One of the biggest factors for the steep decline in the benchmark indices was RIL. The Index heavyweight fell 3.05 per cent to 918.85 and cost the Sensex 66 points. On Monday, the company had announced a deal to buy 14 per cent stake in East India Hotels – owners of the Oberoi brand. However, the deal did not go down well with the investors. RIL dragged the oil and metals index down 1.95 per cent lower. EIH limited could not sustain gains and fell 7.13 per cent.
High beta stocks fell. Metals, that outperformed the markets on Monday, fell 1 per cent led by Jindal Steel that closed 2.11 per cent down. Realty stocks declined 1.71 per cent. DLF fell 1.82 per cent.
FMCG and auto stocks were the big gainers. M&M gained 2.85 per cent and was the top gainer on the Sensex. ITC rose 2.10 per cent and Maruti Suzuki advanced 1.68 per cent.
ICICI Bank, Wipro, Infosys – all surged in the last hour of trade to close in the green.
10 stocks advanced and 20 declined on the BSE. ITC was the biggest contributor to the Sensex adding 23 points. ICICI Bank added 13 points. Reliance Comm was the biggest loser on the Sensex dropping 3.61 per cent.
The broader markets fell. Small cap stocks declined 1 per cent and the CNX midcap index fell 0.66 per cent. Jet Airways fell 5.25 per cent, REI Agro dropped 4.05 per cent and Lanco Infra declined 3.78 per cent. Only 30 per cent stocks managed to advance on the BSE.
Hotel stocks gained. EIH Associated rose 19.98 per cent. Royal Orchid gained 4.25 per cent.
Asian stocks fell today led by the Japanese Nikkei that slumped 3.55 per cent. An appreciating Yen hurt export stocks and the latest move by the Bank of Japan to ease its monetary policy has not gone down well with investors. The Nikkei fell 325 points to 8,824. South Korea’s Kopsi declined 0.99 per cent. The Hang Seng fell 0.97 per cent and the Shanghai Composite in China declined 0.52 per cent.
The European stocks were trading lower. The CAC 40 in France fell 0.98 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.74 per cent and Britain’s FTSE fell 0.91 per cent at 4.20 pm.
Overnight, the Wall Street dropped 140 points to 10,009 despite reports indicating that personal incomes rose marginally. Volume on the Wall Street remained thin as investors were cautious about the economic recovery and high unemployment.
Trading in Dow futures indicated that the Wall Street might open lower for a second session later today. The Dow futures were down 33 points to 9,946.
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Category: Stock-News
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