Post Session Commentary - June 30 2009

Indian market pared opening gains and plunged sharply lower to close in red territory on profit taking led by report regarding slowdown in infrastructure growth. Moreover, the output of India''s infrastructure sector grew 2.8% in May from 3.1% in the same month last year, and this growth is slower than an upwardly revised 5% in April. Besides, investors were cautious ahead of Union Budget next week. BSE Sensex ended below 14,500 level and NSE Nifty below 4,300 mark.

The market opened above the previous session’s closing tracking positive cues from the global markets. Asian markets were in green in early trading and the US Markets ended higher on Monday as investors showed confidence and bid stocks up in broad-based fashion. The energy stocks remained in focus bolstered by higher oil prices. However, domestic market lost ground soon after start and exhibited volatility. The benchmark indices continued to extend losses and declined further due to sluggish infrastructure growth. In addition, investors’ booked profits also on uncertainties regarding Union Budget next week. Eventually, heavy sell off during the final trading led the market to close sharply lower. From the sectoral front, investors off-loaded position across sectors. Among those, most of the selling was witnessed in Realty, Metal, Power, Capital Goods, Bank, Oil & Gas, Pharma and Auto stocks. BSE Midcap and Smallcap stocks also followed the same trend.

Among the Sensex pack 27 stocks ended in red territory and 3 in green. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained negative as 1849 stocks closed in red while 757 stocks closed in green and 74 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 291.90 points at 14,493.84 and NSE Nifty ended down by 99.85 points at 4,291.10. BSE Mid Caps closed with losses of 153.75 and 147.82 points at 5,076.34 and 5,740.04 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 14,907.48 and intraday low of 14,420.41.

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are DLF Ltd (8.05%), Tata Motors (7.23%), JP Associates (7.22%), Msterlite Industries (6.01%), Reliance Infra (5.53%), RCom (5.49%), ICICI Bank (3.57%), ACC Ltd (3.16%), Reliance (2.95%), L&T Ltd (2.89%), M&M Ltd (1.64%), Tata Steel (1.60%) and Hindalco (1.54%).

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are Herohonda Motors (15.00%), TCS Ltd (0.98%) and HUL (0.36%).

The output of India''s infrastructure sector grew 2.8% in May from 3.1% in the same month last year, and this growth is slower than an upwardly revised 5% in April, government data showed on Tuesday. During April-May, the output shot up 3.9% as compared to 2.7% in the same period previous year. The infrastructure sector accounts for 26.7% of India''s industrial output.

On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, ended mixed. Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng closed down by 15.95 and 149.78 points at 2,959.36 and 18,378.73 respectively. However, Nikkei 225, Straits Times index and Seoul Composite closed up by 174.97, 15.97 and 1.62 points at 9,958.44, 2.333.14 and 1,390.07 respectively.

European markets, which opened after the Indian market, are trading in green. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading higher by 6.50 points at 4,891.59 and in London FTSE 100 is trading up by 1.69 points at. 4,295.72.

The BSE Realty index underperformed the benchmark indices and lost (7.42%) or 256.88 points at 3,207.19. Scrips that lost are Housing Development (12.19%), Indialbull Real (8.32%), DLF Ltd (8.05%), Unitech Ltd (6.68%) and Mahindra Life (5.04%).

The BSE Metal index tumbled (3.42%) or 384.03 points to close at 10,830.90. Main losers are Welspan Gujarat SR (9.21%), Ispat Industries (6.42%), Sterlite Industries (6.01%), Gujarat NRE C (4.94%) and Jai Corp Ltd (4.87%).

The BSE Power index dropped by (3.19%) or 93.56 points to close at 2,842.34. Losers are Suzlon Energy (11.44%), GMR Infra (8.79%), GVK Power (6.34%), Reliance Infra (5.53%) and Siemens Ltd (5.02%).

The BSE Capital Goods index ended down by (3.18%) or 420.27 points at 12,797.27. Losers are Suzlon Energy (11.44%), Havells India (7.73%), Alstom Proje (6.66%), Everest Kanto (6.31%) and Punj Lloyd (5.56%).

The BSE Bank stocks also lost (2.45%) or 206.38 points to close at 8,211.48. Major losers are Kotak Bank (5.81%), IDBI Bank (5.95%), Indus Ind Bank (5.49%), Axis Bank (3.86%) and ICICI Bank (3.57%).

The BSE Oil & Gas index decreased by (2.32%) or 223.14 points at 9,390.15. Reliance Natural Resources (7.65%), Essar Oil Ltd (5.37%), Aban Offshore (3.27%), Reliance Pet (3.20%) and Reliance (2.95%) ended in negative territory.

Four Soft Limited lost 1.69%. The company has been appraised as fully compliant at Maturity Level 3 with Carnegie Mellon''s Software Engineering Institute''s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model(R) Integration for Development (CMMI(R)) Version 1.2.

Patni Computer Systems Limited plunged 4.90%. The company has launched an Inventory Liability and Risk Management Dashboard in collaboration with SAP. The solution, built on top of the SAP Supply Network Collaboration {SAP SNC) application and leveraging the SAP BusinessObjects5" Xcelsius Enterprise software, helps enterprises calculate in near real time the monetary value of the inventory which is at risk at any given point across the supply chain.

Lupin Ltd. ended down 1.09%. The company announced the acquisition of worldwide rights for the intra-nasal steroid (INS) product, AllerNaze (triamcinolone acetonide, USP) Nasal Spray, 50mcg from Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Tata Communications lost 0.15%. The company and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc announced a partnership agreement as part of an ambitious plan to roll out public Telepresence rooms worldwide.

State Bank of India (SBI) decreased by 1.31%. The bank has decided to reduce interest rates for dealer financing segment by 50 basis points. The move is aimed to double its market share in dealer financing. Besides, the bank has also waived mortgage charges for these loans with effect from July 1, which is the bank’s foundation day.