Sensex plunges 351 points to end below 19,200; Infosys drag

Indian equities dropped on Thursday erasing earlier gains.The markets reacted negatively after taking a cue from Infosys numbers as it was below analysts` estimates. Barring realty, Banking, IT, teck and consumer durables were worst hit.

IT major Infosys Technologies posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 17,800 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 15,590 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, reflecting hike of 14.18%. The consolidated revenue of the country`s second largest software exporter rose to Rs 71.06 billion as against Rs 57.41 billion over the year ago period.



At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex declined 351.28 points or 1.80% at 19,182.82 with 26 components registering drop. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty went down by 111.35 points or 1.90% at 5,751.90 with 45 components posting drop.

Snapping the five week rising trend, food inflation softened to 16.91% for the week ended Jan.01, 2011, although vegetables, onions and protein-based items continued to remained costly. Food inflation fell by 1.41 percentage points from 18.32% recorded in the previous reporting week.

``Just when we thought that short covering in the F&O space could lift the markets further; today we saw fresh shorts in the banking sector. The IT stocks remained under pressure following Infosys` disappointing results and guidance, today`s fall was seen despite upbeat global cues,`` says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

Sensex Movers

Infosys Technologies contributed fall of 96.89 points in the Sensex. It was followed by I C I C I Bank (57.2 points), State Bank Of India (35.52 points), Reliance Industries (34.94 points) and H D F C Bank (29.78 points).

However, Tata Motors contributed rise of 7.83 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (6.57 points), Grasim Industries (4.7 points), ACC (1.16 points) and D L F (0.85 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Tata Motors (1.58%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.04%), D L F (0.61%), and Reliance Communications (0.14%).

On the other hand, Infosys Technologies (4.82%), State Bank Of India (3.91%), I C I C I Bank (3.88%), H D F C Bank (2.90%), Wipro (2.67%), and Hero Honda Motors (2.25%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Mid and small caps outperformed their larger counterparts declining-0.80% and -0.65% respectively.

The major losers in the BSE Midcap were A B G Shipyard (3.49%), Aban Offshore (1.89%), Core Projects and Technologies (1.14%), Alstom Projects India (0.28%) and A I A Engineering (0.17%).

The major losers in the BSE Smallcap were A K Capital Services (7.21%), Adhunik Metaliks (1.97%), Abhishek Industries (1.26%), Action Construction Equipment (0.77%) and Aarti Industries (0.6%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Bankex index was at 12,170.03, down by 445.91 points or by 3.53%. The major losers were Bank Of India(3.82%), Bank Of Baroda (3.1%), H D F C Bank (2.9%), Canara Bank (2.79%) and Federal Bank (1.12%).

The IT index was at 6,444.77, down by 227.51 points or by 3.41%. The major losers were Infosys Technologies (4.82%), H C L Technologies (3.1%), Core Projects and Technologies (1.14%), Oracle Financial Services Software (0.96%) and Mphasis (0.86%).

The TECk index was at 3,830.87, down by 108.62 points or by 2.76%. The major losers were Reliance MediaWorks (1.96%), Dish TV India (1.9%), Idea Cellular (0.96%), Mphasis (0.86%) and Bharti Airtel (0.7%).

On the other hand, the Realty index was at 2,596.31, up by 13.95 points or by 0.54%. The major gainers were Housing Development and Infrastructure (1.51%), Sobha Developers (1.43%), Phoenix Mills (0.82%), Indiabulls Real Estate (0.8%) and D L F (0.61%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 1,138 advances against 1,773 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

State Bank Of India topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 2,337.66 million. It was followed by I C I C I Bank (Rs. 1,544.73 million), Infosys Technologies (Rs. 1,412.45 million) and Tata Steel (Rs. 1,126.82 million).

The volume chart was led by Cals Refineries with trades of over 25.99 million shares. It was followed by Suzlon Energy (10.14 million), Assam Company India (9.97 million) and Birla Cotsyn (India) (6.46 million).