Small-cap, mid-cap indices shine in weak market

The market slipped for the fourth straight session today, giving up early gains as index heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and ICICI Bank declined. RIL dipped after it reported Q3 December 2007 results, which were boosted by one-off gains. Ambuja Cements slipped. Banking and oil & gas shares declined. FMCG stocks were the flavor of the day. 17 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in red. The market breadth was strong.

Asian markets, which were weak in early trade, firmed up as the day progressed. European markets, which opened after Indian markets, were positive.

A meeting of the group of ministers (GoM) on fuel pricing which was scheduled today afternoon has been reportedly postponed until 18:00 IST. There had been reports recently that the government may hike petrol prices by a steep Rs 4 per litre and diesel by Rs 2 per litre. A steep hike retail fuel prices will result in increase in inflation.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 167.29 points or 0.84% to 19,700.82. Sensex hit a low of 19,643.76 at the fag end of the trading session. At the day's low, Sensex declined 224.35 points. Sensex hit a high of 20,026.12 in afternoon trade. At the day's high, Sensex rose 158.01 points.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty lost 22.55 points or 0.38% to 5913.20.

The BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.74% to 12,740.29. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.79% to 9,340.01.

The market breadth was strong. On BSE, 2003 shares advanced as compared to 833 that declined. 41 remained unchanged.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 8423 crore, compared to Wednesday (16 January 2008)'s Rs 7900 crore.

Nifty January 2008 futures were at 5922, at premium of 8.8 points compared with spot closing of 5913.20.

The NSE futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 67865.55 crore, which was lower than Rs 80606.24 crore on Wednesday, 16 January 2008.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 3.30% to Rs 2996.25. RIL reported 162.22% surge in net profit to Rs 8079 crore on 23.01% increase in total income to Rs 34831 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006. The surge in net profit was due to one-off gains.

Among the other Sensex losers, Ambuja Cements slipped 3.89% to Rs 130.80, DLF fell 3.71% to Rs 1085.75, Ranbaxy Laboratories declined 2.85% to Rs 367.90, and Satyam Computers fell 1.95% to Rs 372.45.

Among the Sensex gainers, ITC soared 3.98% to Rs 217.10, Grasim Industries jumped 3.05% to Rs 3360, Maruti Suzuki flared up 2.76% to Rs 867.30, Larsen & Toubro climbed 2.20% to Rs 4077.70, Cipla rose 1.83% to Rs 209.

The BSE Bankex fell 1.58% to 11,971.14. It underperformed the Sensex. India’s largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank shed 3.46% to Rs 1321.80.

Centurion Bank of Punjab fell 1.75% to Rs 67.35, HDFC Bank declined 1.72% to Rs 1647.10, Federal Bank slipped 1.55% to Rs 339.95, and Canara Bank skid 0.90% to Rs 351.60.

The BSE Oil & Gas index fell 1.97% to 13,381.37. It underperformed the Sensex. Aban Offshore dropped 2.85% to Rs 4,656.45, HPCL skid 1.83% to Rs 329.90, Indian Oil Corporation slipped 1.65% to Rs 656.75 and Reliance Petroleum fell 0.75% to Rs 219.30.

The BSE FMCG index rose 1.79% to 2,347.27. It outperformed the Sensex. Godrej Consumer Products rose 1.60% to Rs 127.30, Hindustan Unilever gained 1.09% to Rs 217.30, GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare moved up 0.68% to Rs 690 and Tata Tea rose 0.62% to Rs 829.85.

The BSE Capital Goods index rose 1.38% to 18,931.82. It outperformed the Sensex. Siemens jumped 4.26% to Rs 1,998.05, Thermax rose 2.19% to Rs 755.40, Crompton Greaves gained 1.93% to Rs 382 and Bharat Heavy Electricals climbed 1.72% to Rs 2348.50.

India's second largest power utility by revenue Reliance Energy (REL) fell 2.38% to Rs 2212.70. The company today reported 50.02% rise in net profit to Rs 301.6 on 1.81% increase in total income to Rs 1,853.41 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

As per the latest data, the IPO of Reliance Power was subscribed 20.84 times. The IPO closes tomorrow. REL will have 45% stake in Reliance Power post issue.

India’s largest software exporter by sales TCS fell 2.31% to Rs 922.65. TCS posted 6.7% rise in net profit as US accounting standards to Rs 1331 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q2 September 2007. The results, which hit the market after trading hours on Wednesday, were in line with market expectations.

Reliance Industries clocked the highest turnover of Rs 472.55 crore on BSE. Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 431.10 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs 316.12 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 210.53 crore) and Himachal Futuristic Communications (Rs 202.53 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

Himachal Futuristic Communications reported the highest volume of 4.60 crore shares on BSE. Reliance Natural Resources (1.96 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.90 crore shares), Bellary Steels & Alloys (1.56 crore shares) and Hindustan Motors (1.12 crore shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

In Europe, key indices in UK, France and Germany were up 0.25% to 0.47%

Most of the Asian markets firmed up as the day progressed. Key indices in Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea were up 1.09% to 2.72%. Key benchmark indices in China and Taiwan were down by 0.95% to 2.63%.

US stocks fell on Wednesday, after Intel Corporation posted both a disappointing profit and outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 34.95 points, or 0.28%, at 12,466.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 7.75 points, or 0.56%, at 1,373.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 23 points, or 0.95%, at 2,394.59.

Crude oil futures declined 1.15% at $90.84 on Wednesday, 16 January 2008. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 3,760 crore in the futures & options (F&O) market on Wednesday, the day when Sensex had lost 383 points amid setback in global markets. FIIs were net sellers of Rs 3,164 crore in index futures, and Rs 1,080 crore in stock futures. They were buyers of Rs 484 crore in index options.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs 2,517.59 crore (provisional) in the cash market on Wednesday, according to data released by NSE. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 188.97 crore on Wednesday.