Sensex falls 189 points on lower IIP, oil concerns

Weak IIP numbers and rising crude prices, which may result in a fiscal strain on the economy, exerted pressure on the market, with the Sensex closing 189 points lower

Major headlines

February IIP at 3.6% versus 3.7%

Essar Oil Q4 net profit soars 78% yoy

Sun Pharma signs pact with Merck



Indian indices

The Indian markets continued its downward trend for the fourth straight session. The markets remained under pressure after the lower-than-expected index of industrial production (IIP) data for February 2011 at 3.6%. Rising crude oil prices further weighed on the sentiments. Investors got into major profit booking today, with realty and auto shares leading the decline.

The Sensex started the first day of week 69 points lower at 19383 and trimmed losses in early trade to hit the day’s high of 19426. From higher level, the index began to fall and remained under pressure, hitting the day’s low of 19243 in late trade. The Sensex fell 189 points to settle at 19263 and the Nifty stood at 5786, down by 56 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth stood weak. Of the 2,973 stocks on the BSE, 1,134 advanced while 1,746 declined. However, 93 stocks remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes

Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy was traded the most, with over 0.61 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. It was followed by India's second largest real estate developer - Unitech (0.32 crore shares), oil major - Essar Oil (0.25 crore shares), realty major - Indiabulls Real Estate (0.23 crore shares) and an industrial finance company - IFCI (0.20 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

All the sectoral indices ended lower except BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) up by 0.02% and BSE Healthcare (HC) up by 0.05%. BSE Realty was the major loser, declining by 2.52%, followed by BSE Auto down by 2.15% and BSE Consumer Durables (CD) slipped by 1.89%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were - Marico climbed by 6.96%, Coromandel International rose by 4.43% and Zee Entertainment Enterprises rose by 3.38%. Top three losers were - Siemens dropped by 5.66%, Mundra Port And Special Economic Zone slipped by 5.21% and IRB Infrastructure Developers slipped by 3.90%.

Global signals

The European indices slipped on Monday as renewed worries that high commodity prices will bite into companies' results prompted investors to book recent gains following a brisk three-week rally.

All the Asian indices closed in the red on Monday except Jakarta composite. Japan's Nikkei fell after a steeper-than-expected fall in core machinery orders in February.

The US stock index futures signal to a higher opening on the Wall Street on Monday.