Sensex ends lower; DLF, ACC plunge

Indian equities continued to drop for the second day on Monday. The Sensex ended on a lower note owing worries over euro zone debt concerns. Oil & gas, IT, auto and teck stocks traded lower, while capital goods and healthcare stocks gained.

The index plunged over 300 points in the early deals due to meltdown in overseas markets on concerns over Europe`s sovereign debt crisis.It continued to plummet as aggressive selling pressure was seen in heavweights like RIL and Infosys. It dropped to a low of 16,551 in the first half. Later the index pared some of its losses in the second half as European market opened flat. Finally, it made a smart recovery, erasing all its earlier losses at close.

On global front, European stocks declined on concern the region`s measures to reduce fiscal deficits will hamper economic growth. US index futures pared some of their losses. Asian stocks fell, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific Index down the most in almost six months, as the euro declined against the yen on concern measures to reduce fiscal deficits in Europe will hurt economic growth.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex declined 159.04 points or 0.94% at 16,835.56 with 24 components posting drop. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty fell by 33.60 points or 0.66% at 5,059.90 with 37 components posting drop.

Sensex Movers

Reliance Industries contributed fall of 57.16 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Infosys Technologies (26.05 points), Tata Consultancy Services (14.21 points), ICICI Bank (13.19 points) and HDFC Bank (11.01 points).

However, Larsen & Toubro contributed rise of 53.83 points in the Sensex. It was followed by State Bank Of India (10.86 points), Hindustan Unilever (8.5 points), Bharti Airtel (4 points) and Hindalco Industries (0.62 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Larsen & Toubro (4.97%), Hindustan Unilever (2.52%), State Bank Of India (1.30%), Bharti Airtel (0.79%), Cipla (0.38%), and Hindalco Industries (0.21%).

On the other hand, DLF (3.95%), ACC (3.31%), Wipro (3.30%), Tata Motors (3.29%), Jaiprakash Associates (3.05%), and Reliance Infrastructure (2.92%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Midcap index was at 6927.38 down by 91.54 points or by 1.3%.
The major losers were Aban Offshore (4.59%), A I A Engineering (1.34%), Alstom Projects India (1.32%), Ackruti City (1.1%) and Core Projects and Technologies (0.9%).

The BSE Smallcap index was at 8750.12 down by 184.28 points or by 2.06%.
The major losers were A B G Infralogistics (2.97%), Abhishek Industries (2.35%), Provogue (India) (2.1%), A B G Shipyard (1.74%) and Aarti Industries (1.15%).


Sectors in Limelight

The Oil & Gas index was at 9,689.39, down by 378.59 points or by 3.76%. The major losers were Aban Offshore (4.59%), Reliance Industries (2.57%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.72%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (1.33%) and Cairn India (1.1%).

The Metal index was at 15,868.05, down by 598.08 points or by 3.63%. The major losers were Welspun Corp (2.49%), Hindustan Zinc (2.43%), Tata Steel (2.25%), JSW Steel (1.98%) and Sterlite Industries (India) (0.19%).

The Realty index was at 3,259.10, down by 114.53 points or by 3.39%. The major losers were D L F (3.95%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (2.41%), Peninsula Land (2.22%), Anant Raj Industries (1.2%) and Ackruti City (1.1%).

On the other hand, the Capital Goods index was at 13,596.79, up by 130.57 points or by 0.97%. The major gainers were A B B (23.44%), Siemens (5.3%), Larsen & Toubro (4.97%), Areva T & D India (2.38%) and Praj Industries (0.95%).


Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 1,068 advances against 1,783 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

Aban Offshore topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 2,487.67 million. It was followed by State Bank Of India (Rs. 1,910.52 million), Tata Steel (Rs. 1,883.10 million) and Larsen & Toubro (Rs. 1,771.55 million).

The volume chart was led by Cals Refineries with trades of over 32.79 million shares. It was followed by Birla Power Solutions (12.78 million), Reliance Natural Resources (7.41 million) and Suzlon Energy (5.93 million).