The market stayed weak almost throughout the day's trading session. All the global markets were in the red, with the exception of Shanghai Composite. IT stocks lost ground after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies today, 11 July 2007, cut its FY 2008 EPS and revenue guidance in rupee terms. Shares from the auto and banking pack also saw some profit booking. However, cement, metal and offshore oil services firms edged higher.
The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 96.96 points to 14,912.92, as per provisional closing. It opened lower at 14,948.15 and slumped to 14,829.55, tracking weak global markets. At the day's low of 14,829.55, the Sensex had shed 180.33 points for the day. The Sensex staged a smart recovery from the day's low and moved into the positive zone at one point of time in mid-morning trade, when fresh selling emerged, once again pulling it lower.
The Sensex swung 186 points in the day in volatile trade.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 5,473 crore compared to Rs 4,147 crore by 14:30 IST.
Among the Sensex pack, 18 declined while the rest advanced
IT pivotals saw intense selling pressure right from the opening bell. Four of the top five losers from the Sensex were IT stocks.
IT bellwether Infosys Technologies slumped 4.65% to Rs 1,926, on high volumes of 15.32 lakh shares. It was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 2,98.55 crore. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack.
The company today revised upwards its EPS guidance for FY 2008 (year ending 31 March 2008) in dollar terms to a growth of 28.4% to 29.7% compared to the earlier guidance of 25.7% to 27.7% growth. It has also slightly raised the revenue guidance in dollar terms to 29% to 31%, from the earlier guidance of a growth of between 28% to 30%.
EPS guidance in rupee terms has been cut to reflect a growth of 15.6% to 16.8% compared to the earlier guidance of 20% to 22% growth. It has also reduced the revenue guidance in rupee terms to 16.9% to 18.3%, from the earlier guidance of a growth of 22.6% to 24.6%.
Infosys' consolidated net profit as per Indian GAAP was down 5.6% to Rs 1079 crore in Q1 June 2007, from Rs 1,144 crore in Q4 March 2007. Revenue was almost unchanged at Rs 3,773 crore in Q1 June 2007 compared to Rs 3,772 crore in Q4 March 2007.
Satyam Computers shed 3.25% to Rs 481, TCS lost 3.10% to Rs 1,151 and Wipro lost 1.97% to Rs 510.50.
Auto stocks edged lower on profit booking. Tata Motors (down 1.97% to Rs 729.90), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.81% to Rs 782) and Maruti Udyog (down 0.37% to Rs 810) edged lower
Leading private sector lender ICICI Bank declined 1.10% to Rs 953 and State Bank of India slipped 0.88% to Rs 1537.
Steel maker Tata Steel galloped 4.20% to Rs 660.55 on 13.27 lakh shares. It was the top gainer among Sensex constituents. A recent report by a brokerage states that India's steel consumption will grow 16% annually until 2012, or twice as fast as in the past five years, fueled by demand for construction projects worth $1 trillion. The construction industry, growing 60% a year, will keep steel mills running at near full capacity. The brokerage house expects global steel prices to rise in 2008 and 2009
Bhushan Steel (up 0.38% to Rs 713), JSW Steel (up 2.38% to Rs 670), Hindustan Zinc (up 3.27% to Rs 731) and Sail (up 1.66% to Rs 137.75) were the other gainers from metal sector.
Cement stocks advanced on renewed buying on expectation of strong Q1 June 2007 results. Cement major ACC (up 3.32% to Rs 1071.10), UltraTech Cement Company (up 1.60% to Rs 896.55), Birla Corporation (up 4.28% to Rs 286.20) and Grasim (up 2.77% to Rs 2802) edged higher.
Reliance Energy (REL) vaulted 2.10% to Rs 625.50 on its plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore to add 15,000 mega watts (MW) of power over the next five years. This will boost the company's generation capacity almost 17 times from 941 MW now. The stock was also boosted by market rumors that promoters may hike their stake in REL by 5%, taking it around to 40%
Offshore oil services firms were in demand on reports that rig rates have gone up by 10-15% globally. Dolphin Offshore (up 2.46% to Rs 285), Aban Offshore (up 1.88% to Rs 3075), Selan Exploration (up 7.11% to Rs 105.50) and SEAMEC (up 6.92% to Rs 250.20), all gained
All Asian markets fell today, 10 July 2007, reacting to the sharp overnight fall on the Wall Street. The Japanese market fell, led by exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp., as the US dollar weakened against the yen. Japan's Nikkei plunged 1.11% to 18,049.51.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 0.64% at 22,739.03), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (down 1% at 9,290.95), and Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.61% at 3,598.26) edged lower.
However China's Shanghai Composite recovered after the initial fall. It was up 0.33% to 3,865.72l
All the European indices were trading with losses.
US stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, after investor enthusiasm was hit right at the outset of earnings season after both Home Depot Inc. and Sears Holdings lowered their forecasts.
The Dow Jones declined 148.27, or 1.09%, to 13,501.70. Broader stock indicators also dipped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 21.73, or 1.42%, to 1,510.12, while the Nasdaq Composite index lost 30.86, or 1.16%, to 2,639.16.
As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 583.02 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 206.70 crore on Tuesday, 10 July 2007.