Sensex loses 44 pts at close; RCom, Sterlite plunge

Indian equities dropped on Monday erasing earlier gains. The Sensex shed nearly 45 points as profit booking emerged and also due to weak opening of European market. Finally, it ended the volatile session on a bleak note after touching a low of 20,010.33 and high of 20,190.13.



The market opened on a flat note and soon gained momentum amid mixed Asian peers in the first half. However, weak opening in European markets further influenced the softening trend, besides profit selling.

Major global market players due to the year-end holidays affected the trading sentiment and reduced business volumes.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex lost 44.73 points or 0.22% at 20,028.93 with 19 components posting drop. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty fell by 13.50 points or 0.22% at 5,998.10 with 33 components registering drop.

``We mostly expect a volatile week owing to the F&O expiry on Thursday. Also, with trading volumes thin due to the year-end fatigue factor, movements in the markets can be accentuated. The Indian indices are unlikely to either run away or slide in the near term and will mostly take their cues from the overseas markets. Quarterly results, trend in FII flows, economic statistics, and the RBI stance will drive the sentiment in the early part of the new year. Union Budget will of course be an important event but before that the political situation needs to be salvaged,`` said Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL.

On global front, Japan`s government on Friday approved a record budget proposal for the next fiscal year, while adhering to its self-imposed limits on spending and borrowing as officials struggle to fix the nation`s poor finances. The government`s initial budget for the fiscal year beginning in April contains 92.412 trillion yen (USD 1.113 trillion) in total spending, exceeding 92.299 trillion yen for the current fiscal year due to increased debt-servicing costs.

The People`s Bank of China increased both its one-year lending and one-year deposit rates by a Quarter-Point.

Sensex Movers

Sterlite Industries (India) contributed fall of 11.67 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Bharti Airtel (11.5 points), Reliance Industries (10.04 points), Tata Steel (7.67 points) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (5.19 points).

However, I C I C I Bank contributed rise of 7.2 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Infosys Technologies (6.27 points), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (2.95 points), Bharat Heavy Electricals (2.61 points) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (2.5 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Cipla (1.47%), Tata Power Company (0.81%), Bajaj Auto (0.64%), Wipro (0.64%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (0.53%), and I C I C I Bank (0.45%).

On the other hand, Reliance Communications (3.56%), Sterlite Industries (India) (3.00%), Reliance Energy (2.11%), Bharti Airtel (1.98%), Tata Steel (1.44%), and Hindalco Industries (0.90%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The Midcap index declined 0.17%, while Smallcap index rose 0.21%.

Sectoral space

The Metal sector index dropped the most by losing 1.24% to 17,059.88 on reduced offtake as investors were of the view that China will tighten monetary policy in 2011 to tackle inflation, reducing demand for commodities.

The Realty sector index lost 0.82% to 2,742.16 followed by Power index by 0.35 per cent to 2,922.97. The FMCG index lost 0.30 per cent to 3,574.42.

Whereas IT sector rose on anticipation that tech demand will increase as the U.S. economic recovery gathers pace. The IT index rose by 0.25% to 6,711.10.

Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 1,501 advances against 1,450 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

B F Utilities topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 3,843.63 million. It was followed by Ravi Kumar Distilleries (Rs. 3,548.89 million), State Bank Of India (Rs. 747.68 million) and Jindal Photo (Rs. 653.40 million).

The volume chart was led by Ravi Kumar Distilleries with trades of over 44.33 million shares. It was followed by Ispat Industries (7.70 million), Suzlon Energy (5.75 million) and Bampsl Securities (5.61 million).

New Listing:

Ravi Kumar Distilleries, a manufacturer of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), got listed at the bourses today. The shares settled at Rs 79.30, a premium of 23.91% against the issue price of Rs 64 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It touched a high of Rs 91 and a low of Rs 72. A total of 72.97 million equity shares were traded. It got listed at Rs 72, a premium of 12.5% as against its issue price.