Sensex falls 114 points to end below 19,000; Infy, RIL drag

Indian markets dropped on Wednesday erasing earlier gains. After trading strong in the first half, markets plunged in the later to close deep in the red after touching a low of 18,898.56. Metal stocks, led by SAIL, gained coupled with Realty stocks while IT stocks, except HCL Tech witnessed some profit booking. Capital Goods stocks continued their southern journey. European markets, slipped after a positive opening and were trading modestly in the negative.



At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex lost 113.73 points or 0.60% at 18,978.32 with 21 components posting drop. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty fell by 33 points or 0.58% at 5,691.05 with 36 components posting drop.

``Auto major Bajaj Auto, Mid-Cap IT heavyweight HCL Tech and Hindustan Zinc announced better than expected quarterly results. However, the market seemed to be more worried about the governance deficit, high inflation and FII outflows. All eyes are on next week`s RBI review and forthcoming results from the leading companies such as Wipro, Yes Bank, RIL, ITC, BHEL, PNB and Tech Mahindra,`` said Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL.

Sensex Movers

Infosys Technologies contributed fall of 39.35 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Reliance Industries (30 points), Larsen & Toubro (22.12 points), State Bank Of India (16.84 points) and H D F C Bank (14.21 points).

However, I C I C I Bank contributed rise of 18.14 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Hindalco Industries (10.24 points), Sterlite Industries (India) (10.24 points), Tata Steel (5.76 points) and D L F (4.34 points).

Biggest gainers in the 30-share index were D L F (3.13%), Sterlite Industries (India) (2.74%), Reliance Energy (2.71%), Hindalco Industries (2.63%), Bajaj Auto (1.96%), and I C I C I Bank (1.24%).

On the other hand, Infosys Technologies (1.99%), Larsen & Toubro (1.87%), State Bank Of India (1.86%), H D F C Bank (1.48%), Hero Honda Motors (1.46%), and Reliance Industries (1.32%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Mid and small caps outperformed their larger counterparts gaining 0.15% and 0.09% respectively.

The major gainers in the BSE Midcap were Andhra Bank(3.37%), Allcargo Global Logistics (3.23%), Amara Raja Batteries (1.35%), Alfa-Laval (India) (0.53%) and Amtek Auto (0.36%).

The major gainers in the BSE Smallcap were Ajanta Pharma (3.11%), A K Capital Services (2.88%), INEOS ABS (India) (1.41%), Abhishek Industries (0.98%) and A B G Infralogistics (0.18%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Capital Goods index was at 13,517.77, down by 163.99 points or by 1.2%. The major losers were A B B (1.56%), Havell`S India (1.15%), Alstom Projects India (0.86%), Areva T & D India (0.53%) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (0.52%).

The IT index was at 6,641.65, down by 79.11 points or by 1.18%. The major losers were Infosys Technologies (1.99%), Core Projects and Technologies (1.39%), Wipro (0.85%), Tata Consultancy Services (0.58%) and Tech Mahindra (0.52%).

The Oil & Gas index was at 9,817.20, down by 114.21 points or by 1.15%. The major losers were G A I L (India) (2.01%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.2%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (0.79%), Cairn India (0.1%) and Indian Oil Corporation (0.1%).

On the other hand, the Metal index was at 16,822.59, up by 293.87 points or by 1.78%. The major gainers were JSW Steel (3.61%), Sesa Goa (2.96%), Hindalco Industries (2.63%), Bhushan Steel (1.1%) and NMDC (0.66%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 1,460 advances against 1,449 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

Tata Coffee topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 2,749.80 million. It was followed by L I C Housing Finance (Rs. 1,919.40 million), State Bank Of India (Rs. 1,691.98 million) and Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (Rs. 1,293.70 million).

The volume chart was led by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision with trades of over 84.57 million shares. It was followed by L I C Housing Finance (11.26 million), Ispat Industries (8.84 million) and Sanraa Media (4.90 million).