Market loses further ground

The market lost further ground in mid-morning trade. The market had opened on a firm note. It had slipped in the red shortly. ITC and Reliance Energy hit all-time highs in early trade. Market breadth was just about positive. Asian markets were trading lower today, 2 January 2008.

At 11:27 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 198.55 points or 0.98% to 20,102.16. Sensex hit a low of 20,097.30 so far in the day. At day's low, Sensex lost 203.41 points. Sensex had hit a high of 20,393.10 in early trade. At day's high, Sensex rose 151.49 points.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty was down 62 points or 1.01% to 6,082.35.

Sensex had struck an all time high of 20,498.11 on 13 December 2007. Nifty had hit a record high of 6,185.40 on 13 December 2007.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3921 crore by 11:30 IST as compared to Rs 1697 crore by 10:30 IST.

The market breadth which was strong on BSE in opening session was just about even as profit booking emerged for small-cap and mid-cap stocks. 1412 shares advanced as compared to 1362 that declined. 31 remained unchanged

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.04% to 9,930.88 while the BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.15% to 13,723.58. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Among the Sensex pack, 26 declined while the only 4 of them gained

India’s largest oil exploration company in terms of net profit, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation advanced 3.16% to Rs 1289. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack.

India’s largest private sector power utility company in terms of net profit, Reliance Energy rose 1.76% to Rs 2319.10. The stock hit all-time high of Rs 2334.80 today. The company owns 50% in Reliance Power, which it plans to list.

India’s largest cigarette manufacturer in terms of sales, ITC slipped from an all time high of Rs 227, struck in early trade today. It was now up 0.41% to Rs 218.50. As per recent reports, ITC's subsidiary Fortune Park Hotels plans to invest around Rs 130 crore in three or four hotels in Bangalore, Coimbatore and Kolkata.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization & oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 0.60% to Rs 2830. 1.16 lakh shares were traded on the counter on BSE

India’s largest state run engineering company in terms of net sales, Bharat Heavy Electricals, lost 2.13% to Rs 2529.50 on profit booking. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

HDFC Bank (down 1.61% to 1702), Reliance Communications (down 1.69% to Rs 731.25), and Ambuja Cements (down 1.38% to Rs 146.60), were the other losers from Sensex pack.

India’s largest power generation company in terms of net sales, National Thermal Power Corporation declined 1.30% to Rs 253.45 on high volumes of 48.14 lakh shares. A single block deal of 39.21 lakh shares was struck on the counter on BSE at Rs 252.45 per share at 10:35 IST

Among the side counters, UCO Bank (up 14.34% to Rs 80.95), Atlanta (up 16.55% to Rs 495.95), and Batliboi (up 19.36% to Rs 128.30), surged

Godrej Industries was down 1.49% Rs 418.05. The company said on Tuesday, 1 January 2008, it had signed an agreement to transfer its medical diagnostics division to ICICI Venture-backed RFCL for an undisclosed amount.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre rose 1.46% to Rs 507 on reports that the company is set to acquire a multiplex chain in the United Kingdom that runs 60 screens across the country.

Wockhardt rose 0.58% Rs 422.05 after the company said late on Tuesday, 1 January 2008, it had launched its cetirizine tablets in the US, following approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Indiabulls Financial Services surged 20% Rs 859.10 on reports of Indiabulls group entering the gaming business by picking up a 10% stake in High Street Cruises & Entertainment.

Asian markets were trading lower today, 2 January 2008, as investors remained cautious, searching for fresh catalysts after most markets in the region outperformed in 2007. Shanghai Composite (down 0.03% at 5,260.08), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 0.86% at 27,572.22), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (down 2.15% at 8,323.51), Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.84% at 3,453.15) and South Korea's Kospi (down 1.21% at 1,874.12), edged lower.

US market was closed on Tuesday, 1 January 2008, for the New Year holiday.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 13.72 points or 0.07% to 20,300.71, on Tuesday 1 January 2008. The broader CNX S&P Nifty gained 5.75 points or 0.09% to 6,144.35 on that day.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 461.41 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 306.94 crore on Tuesday, 1 January 2008.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs 68 crore in the futures & options (F&O) market on Tuesday, 1 January 2008. They were net sellers of Rs 192 crore in stock futures and Rs 134 crore in index futures, but net buyers of Rs 258 crore in index options.

Crude oil rose above $96 a barrel today, 2 January 2008 as a storm dropped snow in the Northeast and on speculation U.S. stockpiles fell for a seventh week. Crude oil for February delivery rose as much as 62 cents, or 0.7%, to $96.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile, merchandise exports from India during November 2007 rose a healthy 26.82% (dollar terms) to $12.42 billion, from $9.79 billion a year ago.