The market kept on declining throughout the day, after a firm opening as selling pressure continued pulling the Sensex below the 13,800 mark.
The 30-shares BSE Sensex lost 59.43 points to 13,786.91. It had opened higher at 13873.03, following a smooth rollover from December 2006 derivatives contracts to January 2007 contracts. It also touched an intra-day high of 13,929.10 at 10:03 IST, as buying continued. The Sensex had slipped to a fresh low of 13770.06, in late afternoon session.
The S&P CNX Nifty lost 4.15 points or 0.10% to 3966.40
India's wholesale price index rose 5.43% in the 12 months to 16 December, higher than the previous week's annual rise of 5.32% due to an increase in manufactured product prices, data showed on Friday. The annual inflation rate was 4.62% during the corresponding week of the previous year.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3419 crore as compared to Rs 4193 crore on Thursday.
The market breadth was strong on BSE with 1386 shares advancing, as compared to 1233 shares that declined. 71 shares were unchanged.
Among the Sensex pack, 22 declined while the rest advanced.
FMCG major HLL was the top loser, down 1.82% to Rs 216.30 on 13.47 lakh shares.
Reliance Communications (RCL) declined 1.34% to Rs 471 on 14.19 lakh shares. It said on Thursday, it is examining the opportunity in mobile operator Hutchison Essar and that a potential combination could create compelling value for all shareholders. Chairman Anil Ambani also told a news conference the company had received commitments from global bankers for financial support for any potential bid. Ambani said there was no certainty on the timing of a bid and declined to say how much the firm would offer, saying it would remain within a conservative limit. Meanwhile, RCL plans to invest $1.5 billion to expand capacity of its Flag Telecom submarine cable network.
Tata Motors (down 1.36% to Rs 893), ONGC (down 1.20% to Rs 867) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (down 1.15% to Rs 141.90) were the other losers.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 0.52% to Rs 1270 on 7.45 lakh shares. It has slipped from high of Rs 1288.40
Tata Steel was the top gainer, up 1.76% to Rs 484.90 on expectations there will be further consolidation in the steel industry. Meanwhile, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata was quoted as saying in an interview that the Tata group sees a limit to how far it can stretch to buy Anglo-Dutch steel-maker Corus Group Plc without compromising shareholders' interests.
Dr Reddy’s Lab gained 1.43% to Rs 811 after it received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for cholesterol-lowering simvastatin tablets. Simvastatin is the generic equivalent of Merck & Co. Inc.'s blockbuster drug Zocor.
Cement major ACC gained 1.05% to Rs 1085 on 1.65 lakh shares. It moved in range of Rs 1072.10 -1098.90.
The BSE Bankex slipped 0.20%, or 14.29 points, to 7085.73. Private sector banking shares witnessed renewed-buying interest while state run banks finished lower. Punjab National Bank (down 1.30% to Rs 506), SBI (up 0.75% to Rs 1245.35), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 5.35% to Rs 399.90), Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.30% to Rs 111.70), Bank of Baroda (down 1.82% to Rs 240.15), Oriental Bank of Commerce (down 2.46% to Rs 226.30), HDFC Bank (down 0.86% to Rs 1069.70), Canara Bank (down 0.15% to Rs 275), Bank of India (up 0.80% to Rs 207), and ICICI Bank (down 1.10% to Rs 889).
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) added 26 new stocks in the F&O list from today. The new entrants in the F&O segment are Aban Offshore, Amtek Auto, Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini Mills, Bata India, Bharat Earth Movers, Bombay Dyeing, Crompton Greaves, Gateway Distriparks, GTL, Gujarat Alkalies & Chem, Hindustan Construction, Hinduja TMT, Jaiprakash Associates, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Lupin, Mcdowell & Company, Nagarjuna Constrn., Praj Industries, Shree Renuka Sugars, Sesa Goa, Triveni Engg. & Inds, Tata Teleservices (Maharastra), UltraTech Cement and Voltas.
The near term trigger for the bourses is Q3 December 2006 results. Market men expect December 2006 quarter to be another strong quarter in terms of earnings growth. Strong advance tax payments corroborate the view that Q3 results would be strong. The Q3 results would start trickling in from 11 January 2007.
The Nikkei 225 index finished just 0.01% higher at 17,225.83. That marked its highest close since early May. The benchmark ended 2005 at 16,111.43. Tokyo's Nikkei share average ended 2006 with a 6.9% gain for the year, marking its fourth straight year of growth and its longest bull run in nearly two decades.
US stocks finished marginally lower on Thursday as investors sold off recent outperforming stocks to lock in some profits ahead of the year-end. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 9.05 points, or 0.07 percent, to end at 12,501.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 2.11 points, or 0.15 percent, to finish at 1,424.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 5.65 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,425.57.
As per provisional data, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1022.55 crore on Thursday 28 December, the day when Sensex had lost 13 points. FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 368 crore on Wednesday 27 December, the day when Sensex had surged 151 points.
Oil rose as some analysts and traders said they expect U.S. crude inventories to have dropped last week because of disruptions to shipping. Crude oil for February delivery rose as much as 39 cents to $60.73 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil for February settlement gained 28 cents to $60.80 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.