June gets a Bumpy start; Sensex tumbles 253 points

The Indian markets ended nearly 2% down on the first day of the June series due to weak European cues. The Sensex declined 253 points and the Nifty ended 83 points lower. Major Headlines IGL vs PNGRB; Delhi High courts favours IGL TVS Motors May 2012 sales numbers disappointing Maruti May 2012 domestic sales at 89478 units Auto sector down by 2% post May sales Hotel shares fall as government takes austerity measures Indian Indices Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply during the afternoon session on the first day of the June series, following the losses in Asian markets and weakness across the European markets. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty dipped nearly 2% each. The broader indices were also in red, heading towards a weak market breadth. Profit booking led the markets to close the session lower. Major heavyweight draggers were - RIL, HDFC Bank, Infy, L&T, HDFC, Tata Motors, ONGC. All-round selling across the board also led the markets to trade with heavy losses. All the sectors closed in the red zone. The Sensex fell below the psychological mark of 16000 and the Nifty fell below 4850 mark. The broader market too ended trade on a negative note. At the end of day, the BSE Midcap index declined by 1.56%, while the BSE Smallcap index was down by 1.29%. The overall market breadth at close was negative. Today, the Sensex closed at 15965, down by 253 points and the Nifty fell 83 points to close at 4842. Tracking today's stock specific action, surprisingly Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) surged in late afternoon session, as Delhi High Court gave verdict in favour of Indraprastha Gas. Delhi HC has quashed Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) order. The stock closed 28.70% up. Fresenius Kabi was down today following yesterday's fall after the foreign parent's proposed offer for sale to increase the public holding in the company. This move was contrary to market expectations of a delisting offer from the parent company. After market hours stock dropped 17.11%. The other major stock in action in today's markets was, IT Sector which declined over 2% on weak economic data in the US. After at the end of the day Wipro (down by 1.79%), TCS (down by 1.69%), Infosys (down by 2.13%), Mahindra Satyam (down by 2.06%), HCL Technologies (down by 2.82%), Tech Mahindra (down by 2.40%) and MphasiS (down by 1.08%). Also the auto sector was down by 2% post May sales, as India's top car makers posted lacklustre sales in May as an excise tax hike and rising fuel prices hit demand, casting more gloom over the country's economic outlook. After the market hours stock closed (Maruti Suzuki down by 2.94%), (Tata Motors fell by 3.73%) and (M&M slipped by 1.05%). Further the hotel stocks were down across the board after the government announced a series of austerity measures aimed at controlling unproductive expenditure. These include ban on conducting conferences and seminars in five-star hotels. Hotel Leelaventure (fell by 2.61%), Indian Hotels Company (dropped by 1.97%), EIH (down by 0.13%). On the home ground, India's exports rose 3.23% year-on-year to $24.5 billion in April, while imports grew 3.83% on year to $37.9 billion, government data showed on Friday. Coming to currency: The rupee recovered after a weak opening above 56 to the dollar. Yields continue to fall for the second day as traders see buying opportunity even in weak economic data. Market sentiment: The market breadth stood in favor of declines. Of the 2798 stocks traded on the BSE, 850 (30.38%) rose, 1830 (65.40%) fell and 118 (4.22%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening: Among the 13 sectoral indices, twelve sectors closed in red zone, and only one closed in green zone. The only gainer was BSE FMCG (up by 0.37%), Top Losers: BSE CG (down by 2.99%), BSE Power (fell by 2.49%) and BSE Auto (slipped by 2.17%). Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- Indraprastha Gas (rose by 28.70%), Neyveli Lignite (up by 14.81%) and Gujarat Gas (surged by 14.62%). Top three losers were- Adani Enter (down by 8.19%), Pantaloon Retl (declined by 7.80%), and JSW Energy (fell by 6.56%). Global Signals The Asian markets closed mixed on Friday. Disappointing US data and Chinese manufacturing numbers weighed on investors sentiment. The European shares extended losses today, after a slew of data which showed that the euro zone debt crisis was hurting the region's biggest economies. The US Stock index futures pointed to a lower opening at the Wall Street on Friday. Market Outlook: Data to be released in the US on Friday: Employment Situation, Personal Income & Outlays, ISM Manufacturing Index, Construction Spending and Motor Vehicle Sales.