Market opens on a weak note

The market edged lower in opening trade tracking weak global markets. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank fell. All the sectoral indices on BSE were in the red. Banking and realty shares were the worst hit.

The market breadth was weak. 23 out of 30 shares from the Sensex pack were in the red. Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were mostly in the red.

A meeting of Indian ministers, which was expected to recommend a rise in retail prices of petrol and diesel, ended on Thursday, 17 January 2008 without a decision. The panel is likely to meet again on Friday, 18 January 2008 or Saturday, 19 January 2008.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 256.41 points or 1.30% to 19,444.41. Sensex hit a low of 19,425.19 at the onset of the trading session. At the day's low, Sensex declined 275.63 points.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty was down 75.65 points or 1.28% to 5837.55.

The BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.22% to 12,584.91. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1% to 9,246.36.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 1508 shares advanced as compared to 704 that declined. 38 remained unchanged.

India’a largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 1.48% to Rs 2951.90.

India’s largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank fell 2.10% to Rs 1294.10.

India’s largest engineering and construction firm by revenue Larsen & Toubro declined 2.08% to Rs 3993.

Among the other Sensex losers, HDFC Bank shed 2.63% to Rs 1603, DLF slipped 2.46% to Rs 1059, Satyam Computers fell 1.75% to Rs 365.55, Bharat Heavy Electricals skid 1.72% to Rs 2308 and ONGC fell 1.69% to Rs 1230.

Among the Sensex gainers, Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 1.63% to Rs 373.90, Ambuja Cements advanced 1.26% to Rs 132.05, Reliance Energy gained 0.78% to Rs 2230, Grasim Industries rose 0.70% to Rs 3330 and Bajaj Auto moved up 0.69% to Rs 2459.

In Asia, key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, were down by 0.17% to 1.22%. However, Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted index was up 0.40%.

US stocks fell sharply on Thursday, 17 January 2008, as news of a plunge in regional factory activity and a hefty loss at Merrill Lynch further clouded an increasingly dire view of the US economy. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 306.95 points, or 2.46%, to close at 12,159.21, on Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 39.95 points, or 2.91%, at 1,333.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 47.69 points, or 1.99%, at 2,346.90.

In one of the strongest signals yet that the economy is at high risk of contracting, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said mid-Atlantic factory activity has slowed much more than expected to levels that typically signal recession.

FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 2267.40 crore on Thursday, the day when Sensex lost 167 points. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 734.75 crore on that day.

FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 611.60 crore on Thursday. They net bought index options worth Rs 279.71 crore. FIIs sold individual stock futures to the tune of Rs 1220.25 crore on that day.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday, 17 January 2008 proposed a price band for stocks on their market debut to curb sharp swings. The Sebi suggested a 25% price band on the day of listing for initial public offerings of up to Rs 250 crore.

A unit of rating agency Moody's said on Thursday, 17 January 2008 suggested that India's economy should expand 8% in 2008, slower than 8.8% last year, as tight monetary conditions dampen loan demand and creaky infrastructure hobbles growth.

A deep recession in developed economies will have an adverse impact on the Indian economy, C. Rangarajan the chairman of the prime minister's Economic Advisory Council said in a news conference on Thursday, 18 January 2008.