Sensex sheds 99 points

The market ended the volatile session in the red as index heavyweights ICICI Bank and Infosys Technologies drifted lower. Reliance Industries moved higher. NTPC soared. Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and Wipro slumped. Oil & gas shares were in demand. IT and consumer durables stocks slipped. The market breadth was positive. 19 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in red.

Asian markets, which opened before Indian markets, were mixed. European markets, which were mixed in early trades, were in green.

The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday, 11 January 2008, gave its go-ahead for the launch of long duration options on the popular Sensex and Nifty indices with tenures up to three years. At present maximum duration for any futures & options contract is three months.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 99.40 points or 0.48% to 20728.05. Sensex hit a low of 20,661.90 in the mid-afternoon trade. At day’s low, Sensex shed 165.55 points. Sensex hit a high of 20,985.62 at the onset of the trading session. At the day's high, Sensex rose 158.17 points.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty rose 6.70 points or 0.11% at 6206.80.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.04% to 9,537.05. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.38% to 12,869.30. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 1553 shares advanced as compared to 1301 that declined. 24 remained unchanged.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 7033 crore as compared to Rs 8,018.66 on Friday, 11 January 2008.

Nifty January 2008 futures were at 6225.45, at a premium of 18.65 points as compared to spot closing of 6206.80.

The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 53245.37 crore, which was lower than Rs 68449.32 crore on Friday, 11 January 2008.

NTPC jumped 4.65% to Rs 284.95, Bharat Heavy Electricals gained 1.59% to Rs 2473.95, and HDFC Bank rose 1.45% to Rs 1787.90.

India’s second largest telecom service provider by sales Reliance Communications rose 1.47% to Rs 805.15 on reports it has received additional spectrum to start GSM services in 14 circles.

India’s largest commercial bank State bank of India (SBI) rose 1.03% to Rs 2462.25 after its board approved a proposal to raise Rs 16736 crore through a rights share issue. SBI will issue one share for every five shares held. The issue will be priced at Rs 1,590 each.

India’s largest listed cellular service provider by market share Bharti Airtel slumped 6.05% to Rs 907.30 after rival company Reliance Communications was allocated Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications spectrum in 14 circles in India.

Maruti Suzuki slipped 4.87% to Rs 854.95, Housing Development Finance Corporation declined 2.73% to Rs 2977.25, Mahindra & Mahindra shed 2.47% to Rs 755.65, and ACC fell 2.46% to Rs 875.90.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.82% to Rs 3216.30 on reports the company is venturing into synthetic fuels through a $6-8 billion project that will turn coal into oil. Globally, this is called coal-to-liquid, or CTL, technology. RIL aims to produce about 80,000 barrels of oil per day through the process. The Rs 30,000 crore project will consume about 30 million tonnes of coal annually, reports suggest.

Another reason for the upmove in the stock was expectations of strong Q3 December 2007 results. RIL unveils Q3 results on Thursday, 17 December 2007.

The BSE Oil & Gas index rose 2.13% to 14,126.83. It outperformed the Sensex. BPCL soared 7.42% to Rs 467.10, Reliance Natural Resources jumped 7.14% to Rs 222, HPCL spurted 4.75% to Rs 349.75, Reliance Petroleum rose 2.50% to Rs 225.25 and Essar Oil moved up 1.09% to Rs 305.05.

IT stocks fell on US recession fears. The BSE IT index fell 2.85% to 3,987.06. It underperformed the Sensex.

India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 3.16% to Rs 1530.20. Infosys Technologies on Friday, 11 January 2008, reported 11.9% growth in consolidated net profit as per Indian GAAP to Rs 1231 crore on 4% rise in sales to Rs 4271 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q2 September 2007.

Wipro slipped 5.05% to Rs 461.05, TCS skid 2.86% to Rs 960.80, and Satyam Computers fell 2.76% to Rs 399.40. Indian IT firms derive more than half of their revenues from the US market.

The BSE Consumer Durables index fell 1.46% to 6,119.67. It underperformed the Sensex. Videocon Industries fell 5% to Rs 600.90, Gitanjali Gems declined 1.19% to Rs 409.90, and Titan Industries fell 0.48% to Rs 1560.70.

The BSE Bankex rose 0.64% to 12,558.80. It outperformed the Sensex. India’s largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank fell 2.18% to Rs 1408. The stock had surged last week on reports it plans to list four for its subsidiaries starting with its securities arm, ICICI Securities.

Axis Bank soared 8.37% to Rs 1265.20, Karnataka Bank spurted 5.79% to Rs 268.45, Bank of Baroda climbed 5.35% to Rs 467.90, Indian Overseas Bank flared up 4.32% to Rs 194.25 and Centurion Bank of Punjab rose 3.98% to Rs 70.50.

Fertiliser stocks galloped on reports that the Department of Fertilisers is planning to approach the Cabinet next month to seek its approval for setting up a regulator for the sector to determine the pricing of fertilisers. Godavari Fertilisers and Chemicals jumped 9.54% to Rs 179.75, Coromandel Fertilisers moved up 5.56% to Rs 126.25, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers soared 5% to Rs 121.60, and Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals rose 3.09% to Rs 80.15.

MIC Electronics, which makes the light-emitting diode (LED) video display system, rose 4.25% to Rs 919 after the company today, 14 January 2008, said its board has approved buying a stake of up to 51% in a power electronics firm and up to 74% in an entertainment firm.

Civil engineering and construction firm Hindustan Construction Company rose 2.72% to Rs 235.85 on reports the company has emerged as the lowest bidder to construct the first strategic crude reserve in India. The company is likely to be awarded the contract this week, the reports added.

Energy Development Company spurted 5.71% to Rs 293.55 after the power producer said it has signed agreements to develop five hydropower projects in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Porwal Auto Components settled at Rs 79.65 on BSE, a premium of 6.2% over the IPO price of Rs 75. The stock debuted at Rs 79.85, a premium of 6.45% over the IPO price.

Reliance Natural Resources clocked the highest turnover of Rs 488.28 crore on BSE. Jaiprakash Associates (Rs 322.53 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs 196.69 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 189.72 crore) and Relaince Industries (Rs 176.68 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

Reliance Natural Resources registered highest volumes of 2.22 crore shares on BSE. Porwal Auto Components (1.99 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.43 crore shares), Centurion Bank of Punjab (1.02 crore shares) and Relaince Petroleum (84.67 lakh shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 was up 0.16%, UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.10% and Germany’s DAX was up 0.22%.

Asian markets were trading mixed today, 14 January 2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.48%, South Korea's Seoul Composite was down 0.92% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.93%. However, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was up 1.79% and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.24%.

US stocks declined sharply on Friday, 11 January 2008 on a warning by American Express of mounting credit-card defaults and a slowdown in consumer spending. Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 246.79 points, or 1.92%, at 12,606.30, Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 19.31 points, or 1.36%, to 1,401.02 and Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 48.58 points, or 1.95%, at 2,439.94.