Post Market Review - Aug 24 2010

After opening marginally in the green, markets witnessed a sustained selling pressure through the trading session to close half a percent lower. Sensex lost 98 points to close at 18311 while Nifty finished at 5505, down 38 points. BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices lost 0.7% each. Cairn jumped 3% on the back of reports that ONGC, OIL, GAIL may make a counter bid for the stake in the company. Sterlite Industries plunged 4% on the back of reports that environment ministry has rejected stage II forest approval for Vedanta’s bauxite mining project in Orissa and that government is examining penal action against Vedanta. European markets were down by more than a percent while US stock indices futures too were lower by about two third of a percent ahead of existing home sales data.




BSE Realty and Metal indices were the top losers among the sectoral indices, shedding 2.6% and 1.9% respectively while Consumer Durable and FMCG indices gained 0.5% and 0.3% respectively. Hindalco and Idea plunged 4.8% and 4.3% respectively, becoming the top losers among the Nifty stocks while Cairn and R Com were the top gainers, up 3% and 1.5% respectively. BSE advance-decline ratio stood at 1:1.5.