Indices end flat while realty outperforms

The bulls took a breather after catapulting Sensex and Nifty to all-time highs on Wednesday. The benchmarks were stuck in a range as capital goods and auto stocks advanced, technology declined and the rest were rather passive. Frontline stocks lacked fresh buying interest.

“Traders are reluctant to buy with the absence of a short-term trigger. The next big event will be the announcement of quarterly earnings from India Inc. Till then, I expect the market to consolidate,” said Suresh Kumar Iyer, technical analyst at Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates.

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty finished just 15 points or 0.32 per cent higher at 4747.55. The index traded within the band of 4721.15-4760.85.

“The Nifty faces major resistance in the 4760-4790 region. Only if the index closes above these levels on two consecutive sessions, will we see a further rise,” Iyer said.

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended up 25 points or 0.15 per cent at 16,347.95. From a low of 16,261.36 in early trade, it made a new high of 16,415.88.

The gains were backed by Reliance Energy (up 4.4%), Mahindra& Mahindra (3.93%), ITC (3.77%), Larsen & Toubro (2.87%), and Hindalco Industries (1.66%).

But the real action was from the real estate space. With a hope that the Reserve Bank of India will follow the US Federal Reserve and cut interest rates, realty shares surged. The BSE Realty Index ended 6.85 cent higher. Unitech shot up 12.43 per cent, DLF added 5.13 per cent, Indiabulls Realty gained 9.42 per cent and Sobha Developers was up 3.8 per cent.

The technology pack, on the other hand, took a bad knock as money flows from foreign investors pushed the rupee to a high of 39.88 to the US dollar. The BSE IT Index ended 2.24 per cent lower. Wipro was down 3.27 per cent, Infosys Technologies shed 2.89 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services lost 2.12 per cent and Satyam Computer ended 1.91 per cent lower.

The derivatives segment saw a build up of long positions. Nifty September futures ended almost at par with the spot index after trading at a premium earlier in the session. Open interest in the contract stood at 3.55 crore (provisional).

Going forward, Iyer advises traders to book profit at current levels and be choose about the stocks one buys. “For the medium term, one could buy selective power stocks and PSU banking stocks,” Iyer added.