173-point debacle

The market extended its fall as selling intensified during the later half of the session. Shares from auto, metals, oil & gas suffered the most.

The 30-shares BSE Sensex plunged 172.54 points, or 1.23%, to settle just below the 13,800 mark at 13,799.49. It opened with an upward gap of 35.64 points, at 14,007.67. It also hit a high of 14,009.56, but began declining as profit-booking emerged. The fall accentuated in the second half of the day, and the Sensex tumbled to a low of 13,756.86.

The S&P CNX Nifty lost 63.30 points (1.58%), to 3,952.05.

The market-breadth was weak on BSE, with over 1.5 losers for every gainer. Against 1,606 shares that declined, 967 advanced. Just 57 shares remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4,061 crore.

Among the 30-Sensex pack, 27 declined while the only 3 of them managed some gains.

Tata Motors was the top loser, down 3.44% to Rs 861.50, on 3 lakh shares. It had tumbled from an intra-day high of Rs 897.

ACC (down 2.95% to Rs 1,100), Hindalco (down 2.86% to Rs 178.15) and HLL (down 2.75% to Rs 233.75) were the other losers from the Sensex family.

Reliance Communication slipped 2.30% to Rs 445.85, after a block deal of 22.74 lakh shares was struck in the counter at Rs 454 per share. The counter clocked 35.27 lakh shares on BSE.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 2.68% to Rs 1,265.90, on a volume of 11.20 lakh shares. The stock has slipped sharply from an intra-day high of Rs 1,310.

State Bank of India (SBI) lost 0.31% to Rs 1,342. As per reports, SBI intends to start operations in Israel by March 2007. The government-run moneylender also wants to enter Pakistan. The bank is expanding into countries, where India's trade and investment is set to grow in future.

NTPC declined 0.46% to Rs 151, as buying continued, after Merrill Lynch raised price target on the scrip, to Rs 180. In a recent report dated 5 December 2006, Merrill Lynch has raised its earnings estimates for NTPC. Its revised price target of Rs 180 on NTPC, is based on a discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis.

Reliance Energy was the top gainer, up 1.96% to Rs 552.65, on 3.02 lakh shares. The stock moved in a broad range of Rs 567.90 - Rs 541.

Grasim (up 0.06% to Rs 2750) and Dr Reddy’s (up 1.50% to Rs 769) were the other survivors of the market carnage.

Two block deals were struck on EIH counter of 2.76 lakh shares each at Rs 110 and Rs 107.25, respectively. The stock was down 0.80% to Rs 105.15 on a total volume of 7.97 lakh shares.

The Nikkei average fell 0.34% on Friday as weaker-than-expected machinery orders data hit machinery stocks such as Fanuc Ltd., while Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. dropped on a cellphone battery recall. The Nikkei slipped 55.54 points to close at 16,417.82, after booking a six-week closing high on Thursday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 103 points (0.55%), to 18,739.99.

India's wholesale price index rose 5.30% in the 12 months to 25 November, lower than the previous week's annual rise of 5.45% due to a fall in food and energy prices, data showed on Friday. The annual inflation rate was 4.48% during the corresponding week of the previous year.

Profit-booking is likely to continue after India’s premier index, the BSE Sensex, rallied a little over 48% in this calendar year, as foreign funds purchased heavily, and the cumulative inflow from whom, in 2006, has reached $8.4 billion compared to a record inflow of $10.7 billion in 2005. Of these, $2 billion was pumped only a month -- November 2006.

The selling pressure may also remain as a section of the market feels that investors may consolidate positions ahead of a record initial public offering of Cairn Energy's Indian subsidiary - Cairn India. The IPO, which will be India's biggest so far, is scheduled to open on 11 December, and is expected to raise up to $1.4 billion.

The European Central Bank had raised its key interest rate a quarter of a point to 3.5% on Thursday, despite strength in the euro that some analysts say could stunt economic growth and hurt the crucial export sector.

FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 244 crore on 6 December, the day when the Sensex had risen 11 points. However, mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 177 crore the same day.

US stocks fell on Thursday as investors locked in profits ahead of jobs data on Friday that may show further weakening in the economy and hurt corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 30.84 points, or 0.25%, to end at 12,278.41. The Standard & Poor`s 500 Index declined 5.61 points, or 0.40%, to finish at 1,407.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 18.17 points, or 0.74%, to close at 2,427.69.

Oil prices rose in Asian trade, after the latest attack on an oil installation in Nigeria, and on growing expectations that OPEC will cut production further, dealers said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was up 39 cents at $62.88 while Brent North Sea crude for January delivery rose 32 cents to $62.89.