A look at how the indices fared at their closes: Sensex 11835 (-0.87%); Nifty 3508 (1.34%); Nasdaq 2345 (+0.49%); Dow 11383 (+0.25%). On April 26 2006, FIIs were net sellers of stocks to the tune of Rs206.20 crore (purchases worth Rs1,784.70 crore and sales of Rs1,990.90 crore) while domestic mutual funds were net buyers of stocks to the tune of Rs327.67 crore (purchases worth Rs968.11 crore and sales of Rs640.44 crore).
Uncertainty in the market is likely to continue on the back of a strong intra-day volatility and weak Asian indices in the ongoing trades. Reports of the market watchdog Sebi imposing an interim ban on several depository participants, brokers and banks from carrying out activities in the stock market till further notice due to some irregularities in the recent IPO's may keep the investors jittery from taking any fresh positions. Among the banks HDFC Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab, IDBI Bank and ING Vysya Bank have been asked not to open new demat accounts, while the listed Indiabull Securities has been barred from the securities market. HDFC Bank yesterday closed 1.57% lower at Rs823, while Indiabull Financial Securities rose over 12% at Rs311. Sebi has also asked Karvy and Pratik from carrying out despositary participant and broking activities.
Among the key domestic indices, the Nifty may witness support at 3467 on the downside and a break below this level could see it slip further to 3410. The index faces a resistance at 3555. The Sensex has a likely support at 11710 and could test higher levels of 11965. In the results section, Finolex, GV Films, GE Shipping, Guffic Biosciences, Essar Oil, Cadila Healthcare, FCS Software, Hindustan Construction, Ind-Swift Lab, McDowell, Patel Roadways, Reliance Natural Resources, Sterlite Opticals, Union Bank of India are expected to announce their quarterly numbers.
US indices moved up for the second straight session, after the sentiment received a boost from the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that the economy is on a right track irrespective of energy prices scaling to record peaks. While the Dow Jones added 28 points at 11383, the Nasdaq gained 11 points to close at 2345.
News of the market regulator Sebi imposing a ban on several brokers saw the Indian ADRs take a heavy plunge on the US bourses. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, MTNL, Rediff and Patni Computers tanked over 6% each, while Infosys, Satyam, Wipro, Dr Reddy's, Tata Motors and VSNL tumbled 2-4% each.
Crude oil prices declined further, with the Nymex light crude oil for June series sliding by 96 cents at $70.97 a barrel. The London Brent crude shed $1.19 to close at $70.70 per barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for June delivery dropped $5.70 to settle at $636.30 an ounce.