Sensex ends below 17k on weak rupee, global woes

The Indian markets had a tough ride today owing to Spain woes, sharp fall in rupee and road block to FDI in retail. The Sensex took a 281 points hit while the Nifty fell 87 points in trade today. Major Headlines of the Day: L&T hits weekly low after Q1 numbers Dabur India gains after posting Q1 numbers Crompton Greaves slides over 8% on margin concerns Debate on airwaves' reserve price still a spoilsport for telecom stocks Opposition denies FDI in multi-brand Rcom slips after Singapore IPO put on hold Indian Indices: Market mood was punctured in trade today with benchmark indices trading in red throughout the day. The key benchmark indices closed the first trading session of the week in the negative zone. Markets slumped today due to weak global cues backed by depreciation in the rupee. The losses were added by fall in index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, Infy, Tata Motors, RIL, HDFC, Tata Steel and SBI. Movement of the Indian indices for the day: The Indian markets had a tough ride today owing to Spain woes, sharp fall in rupee and road block to FDI in retail. D-street witnessed its biggest fall in two months on Monday- July 23, 2012. The key indices closed today's trading session in the negative terrain and remained under pressure throughout the day. Indian equities started today's trade on a negative note and fell sharply during the afternoon session, following the losses in Asian markets and tracking the weakness all across the European markets. The steep decline in rupee too weighed on the market sentiments. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty fell over 1.60% each. The broader indices were also in red, heading towards a weak market breadth. All around profit booking led the markets to close the session lower in trade today. Selling across the board also led the equities to trade with heavy losses. All the sectors closed in the red zone in today's trading session barring capital goods. The Sensex saw its biggest fall in two months taking a hit of over 280 points in trade today. The Indian stock indices were trading near day's lows in the afternoon trade tracking the sharp losses in the global markets. The undercurrent is fragile amid fresh trouble for the debt-strapped eurozone and growing concern about slowdown in China. There were also some fears about the Indian Government's ability to push through pending reforms amid persistent opposition from various political parties. The Sensex closed at 16877.35, down by 281.09 points and the Nifty fell 87.15 points to settle at 5117.95 in trade today. Earnings for the day: 1. HSIL slid after its net profit fell by 36% to Rs18.25 crore on 5.5% growth in net sales to Rs320.50 crore in Q1 June 2012. At end of the day stock slipped by 6.43% 2. Dabur India rose after announcing its consolidated net profit which rose 16.96% to Rs149.40 crore on 22.01%, increase in total income to Rs1496.16 crore in Q1 June 2012. After market hours, the stock closed with modest gain of 0.13%. 3. L&T dropped, as there was profit booking after the company posted its recurring profit after tax which rose by 19% to Rs890 crore on 26% growth in gross revenue to Rs12078 crore in Q1 June 2012. The stock closed 1.12% lower in trade today. 4. Indian Bank advanced after its net profit rose by 13.47% to Rs461.74 crore on 18.67% increase in total income to Rs3596.50 crore in Q1 June 2012. The stock gained by 3.32% in today's trade. 5. Crompton Greaves plunged on reporting lower-than-expected 8% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs85.9 crore for the quarter ended June 2012, due to higher material cost and employee benefits. The stock closed 9.19% lower in trade today. Following are the stocks/ sectors which were in news today: 1. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki has become the top loser among the 30- Sensex stocks for today. Maruti Suzuki slipped 5.65% due to stoppage of work at its Manesar plant since Wednesday's violence 2. Reliance Communications (RCom) declined after the Anil Ambani-promoted telecom firm said that it has put on hold the initial public offering (IPO) of its undersea cable unit, Flag Telecom, in Singapore due to adverse market conditions. After the market hours, stock was down by 2.98%. 3. Godrej Industries slipped ahead of its proposed QIB issue, which opens tomorrow. The stock closed 5.69% lower in trade today. 4. Shares of companies engaged in the retail business were under pressure on bourses in the morning trade on reports that the Samajwadi Party (SP), Left parties and JD(S) have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to allow foreign direct investment ( FDI) in multi-brand retail. 5. Telecom stocks were mostly lower after the Empowered Group of Ministers ( EGoM) on telecom, decided to recommend a reduction in the reserve price for the 2G spectrum auction suggested by sector regulator Trai. Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular shed 2-3% each in today's trade. Market sentiment The market breadth stood in favor of declines. Of the 2892 stocks traded on the BSE, 990 (34.23%) rose, 1794 (62.03%) fell and 108 (3.73%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening All the sectors closed in red zone. The top most losers were: BSE Metal which dropped 3.35%, BSE Realty fell 2.87% and BSE Power dropped 2.70% Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- Shriram Transport Finance Company rose by 3.78%, Indian Bank up by 3.32% and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services surged by 1.98%. Top three losers were- Crompton Greaves down by 9.19%, Pantaloon Retail declined by 7.89%, and HDIL fell by 6.90%. Talking about currency, the Indian rupee was near to 56 a dollar today, which depreciated by 60 paise to 55.92 against the US dollar. Global signals: Asian stock markets tumbled on Monday, with shares in Japan falling to a five-week low on growing fears that Spain will need a full-scale sovereign debt bailout. The news prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and commodities, and flock to traditional safe haven assets like the dollar and U.S. Treasuries. The euro hit its lowest level in over two years and European equities also fell after the reports that Spain's indebted regions need help which fueled fears that the country will become the fourth euro zone member to ask for a major bailout. US stock index futures pointed towards a weaker opening at the Wall Street on Monday.