Markets end lower for 2nd day

Weakness in the global stocks and RBI’s aggressive rate hike weighed on the sentiments today. The Sensex declined 86 points and the Nifty fell 28 points.

Major headlines

IDFC Q1 consolidated net profit declines by 6%

HCL Technologies FY11 consolidated net profit soars 31%

Lupin Q1 consolidated bottomline up 7%



Indian indices

Markets continued its downtrend for the second day amid choppy trade. Rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India and concerns of US debt default were lingering on the market. Heavyweights like RIL, BHEL, L&T, SBI too added pressure. Weak global cues also led to a fall in the markets.

Sensex movements: The Sensex opened the trade with a gap-up of 53 points at 18571 and after few minutes touched the day’s high of 18579. Then the Sensex swung between gains and losses till the mid-morning trade. However, the index slipped in the red and remained under pressure, hitting the day’s low of 18359 in the afternoon session. The Sensex fell 86 points to shut at 18432 and the Nifty closed at 5547, down by 28 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth stood negative. Of the 2,983 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,345 rose while 1,498 fell. However, 140 stocks remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes

A large Indian business conglomerate - Lanco Infratech was traded the most, with over 0.72 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. It was followed by a major Indian telecommunication company - Reliance Communications (0.44 crore shares), wind tu rbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.29 crore shares), the world's largest coal producer - Coal India (0.24 crore shares) and a Jaypee Group firm - Jaiprakash Associates (0.20 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Losers — BSE Capital Goods (CG) was the top loser, declining by 1.86%, followed by BSE Power down by 1.51% and BSE Bankex lost by 1.04%. Gainers — BSE Consumer Durables (CD) surged by 1.46%, BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) rose by 0.28% and BSE TECk up by 0.14%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were - Coal India jumped by 6.72%, Marico surged by 6.42% and United Phosphorus rose by 4.14%. Top three losers were - SKS Microfinance dropped by 8.35%, IRB Infrastructure Developers slipped by 8.07% and Indian Bank slipped by 5.74%.

Global signals

The European stocks fell on Wednesday, with fresh economic data contributing to fears that European economic growth is waning.

The Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday barring Nikkei and Hang Seng.

The US stock index futures point to a slightly lower opening on the Wall Street on Wednesday.

Market Outlook: US Durable Goods will be out on Wednesday.