Nifty slips below 5400 on global carnage

The markets remained under pressure for the entire day on account of weak global cues. The Sensex ended 67 points lower while the Nifty fell 29 points in trade today. Major Headlines for the day: India's oil import bill zooms by 43% at Rs726,386 cr in FY12 2G Scam: SC gives green signal to Chidambaram SBI expects Rs4K crore capital infusion IFCI hits monthly low after govt raises stake to 55.57% Indian Indices: After yesterday's trading session of minute gains, the Indian markets opened trade today on a negative note and remained in red throughout the day. The key benchmark indices closed the last 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 Infosys, RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors, BHEL and HDFC Bank. At the closing bell, the BSE Midcap index fell 0.58%, while the BSE Smallcap index was down by 0.78%. Movement of the Indian indices for the day: The Indian equities remained under pressure throughout the day as its global peers were unsupportive. The markets started today’s trade on a negative note. Investors remained worried about the global economy after doubts over Greece’s future in the Eurozone and easing of US third quarter earnings. Profit booking was witnessed in majority of the sectors except FMCG, HC and Auto which were the only gaining sectors. Lack of support from global peers led to a lackluster trade on the D-street. Markets remained under pressure owing to movements in heavyweights like Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Hero Motocorp. The NSE Nifty failed to maintain the 5400 mark on the last day of the week. The index fell 28.65 points to close at 5,386.70 ahead of F&O expiry week, after hitting an intraday low of 5,371. The Indian rupee too depreciated by 18 paise to 55.44 against the US dollar. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty dipped by 0.38% and 0.53% respectively. The broader indices were also in red, heading towards a weak market breadth. Profit booking led the markets to close the session lower in trade today. Investors in the domestic market were also cautious ahead of August F&O expiry. The Sensex closed at 17783.21, down by 67.01 points and the Nifty fell 28.65 points to close at 5386.70. Following are the stocks/ sectors which were in news today: 1. Country's largest utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra declined after the company reduced its forecast for tractor sales growth from 10% to 2% for financial year 2012-13. This may be due to weak monsoon. The stock closed 1.19% lower in today’s trade. 2. Coal India gained on reports that the company plans to buy back its equity shares and got shareholders' nod for the same. At the end of the day, stock rose by 2.26%. 3. IFCI plunged today after the government approved conversion of Rs923 crore of debentures held by it in IFCI into equity, which also raised the government's stake to 55.57%. The stock closed 16.31% lower in trade today. 4. Gillette India dipped after reporting 12% year-on-year (yoy) drop in net profit at Rs76 crore for the year ended June 2012 due to currency devaluation, and increase in commodity prices as well as manufacturing charges. After market hours, the stock closed 4.70% lower 5. GTL fell after its promoters pledged additional 18% stake of the company with IDBI Trusteeship Services. The stock closed 3.92% lower in today’s trade. 6. Suven Life Sciences has rallied today on the back of huge volumes. The stock hit 52-week high and surged 41% in past two trading sessions on the BSE. At the end of the day, stock rose by 9.75% Market sentiment: The market breadth stood in favour of declines. Of the 2966 stocks traded on the BSE, 1185 (39.95%) rose, 1634 (55.09%) fell and 147 (4.96%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening: Among the 13 sectoral indices, ten sectors closed in red zone while remaining three sectors closed in green zone. Top Gainers: BSE FMCG rose by 0.34%, BSE HC surged by 0.25%, BSE Auto gained by 0.05%. Top Losers: BSE Realty down by 2.54%, BSE Bankex down by 1.08%, BSE Power fell by 0.80%. Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- Jain Irrigation rose by 5.16%, Opto Circuits up by 5.03% and IPCA Lab surged by 4.35%. Top three losers were- IFCI declined by 16.31%, Bajaj Finserv down by 6.79% and Fortis Healthcare fell by 5.88%. Global signals: Asian stock markets declined on Friday as the hopes for a strong policy action from the U.S. Federal Reserve faded and disappointing economic reports on China and the euro zone revived concerns for faltering global economy. European shares were flat on Friday, steadying after weakness in the previous session, as investors speculated over the likelihood of a new round of stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Spain was in talks with the euro zone leaders over conditions for support to bring down its interest rates. The U.S. stock index futures headed towards a flat opening at the Wall Street on Friday ahead of the Census Bureau's durable goods orders data. Market Outlook: Data to be released in the US on Friday is Durable Goods Orders.