Markets Slide Continue

The World Cup kicked off this week. Frankly, that game looks much more interesting than the one being played on the bourses right now. Investors are now tiring of the bulls and bears slugging it out.

On Monday, the Sensex opened marginally higher at 12,902.63 (last close: 12884.99) and the Nifty marginally lower at 3734.60 (last close: 3761.65). Capital goods - L&T, BHEL, Punj Lloyd, Siemens -all gained. Sugar stocks too were gainers. Cement stocks were the major losers.

On Tuesday, the markets inched higher to close at 12,982.98 (Sensex) and 3,770.55 (Nifty). Capital goods and real estate stocks led from the front followed by auto, banking and tech stocks. Mid- and small-cap stocks too joined in the rally. The BSE Mid Cap closed higher at 5,353.83 (last close: 5,276.5) and the CNX Midcap closed at 4731.9 (last close: 4692.85).

On both days, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 395.7 crore and Rs 204.4 crore while mutual funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 145.84 crore and Rs 13.48 crore.

On Wednesday the indices closed lower, the Sensex at 12,529.62 and the Nifty at 3,641.10. Banking stocks were the major losers followed by auto, metal and telecom stocks. The mid-cap indices closed lower at 5,246.38 (BSE Mid Cap) and 4,622.95 (CNX Midcap). FIIs turned into net sellers to the tune of Rs 84 crore. With the market falling, mutual funds entered to make their picks and were net buyers to the tune of Rs 38.22 crore.

The turnover on Wednesday was highest during the week: Rs 4,306 crore on BSE and Rs 8670.09 crore on NSE.

The markets ended flat on Thursday. Sensex closed at 12,543.85 and the Nifty at 3,643.60. FMCG and tech stocks stood their ground. The BSE Mid Cap and CNX Midcap too ended flat at 5,280.79 and 4,633.5, respectively. FIIs and mutual funds sold heavily and were net sellers to the tune of Rs 861.4 crore and Rs 206.35 crore respectively.

After opening the day with modest gains, the markets slipped to close the week in the red. The two new listings on Friday, Page Industries and Raj TV, felt the heat and were hammered. Finally, the Sensex closed at 12,430.4 and the Nifty at 3,608.55. Other than oil and gas, all other BSE sectors ended in the red. Capital goods and banking stocks too were badly hit. BSE Mid Cap closed at 5,235.57 and the CNX Midcap at 4,599.05. FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 18.5 crore. Turnover too dipped to just Rs 3608.6 crore on the BSE and Rs 7058.77 crore on the NSE.

Banking stocks took a beating this week with HDFC Bank (-7.79 per cent), SBI (-7.08 per cent) and ICICI Bank (-5.69 per cent) all losing heavily. Reliance Communications lost the most at - 10.86 per cent and the biggest gainer was Dr Reddy's Laboratories at 3.39 per cent.