Buyers stay away

STOCKS REPORT

Caution was the buzz-word on the bourses on Thursday. Despite a smooth roll-over in the derivatives segment, sentiment was subdued as investors stayed away from taking big calls on the market before the Union Budget, brokers said.

The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed lower as select selling was seen in blue chips and mid-caps. Auto, metal, capital goods and consumer durables counters were among the biggest losers on Thursday. Select technology and FMCG counters recorded some gains on Thursday.

In the BSE Sensex basket, 19 out of the 30 scrips closed lower. The breadth of the market was marginally negative.

Moving in a narrow range, some volatility was seen towards the fag end of the session, brokers said. Volumes were higher due to some huge block deals. Real estate/construction companies were in the limelight after the government allowed FDI in property, they added.

The BSE Sensex hit a high of 6621.68 and a low of 6563.41 in intra-day trades before closing at 6574.21, down 8.29 points (0.13 per cent) from Wednesday's close.

Volumes were higher than on Wednesday in the cash segment of the bourses; the BSE reported a turnover of Rs 3432.93 crore and the NSE reported a turnover of Rs 5310.63 crore.

Zee Telefilms was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 3.28 per cent to close at Rs 147.45, followed by L&T, down 2.87 per cent to Rs 1058.30. Bajaj Auto fell 2.68 per cent to Rs 1014.20, Cipla was down 2.23 per cent to Rs 259.05 and Gujrat Ambuja Cement fell 2.19 per cent to Rs 428.45.

HDFC Bank was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 2.89 per cent to Rs 576.10, BHEL gained 2.71 per cent to Rs 860.10, SBI was up 2.05 per cent to Rs 691, HPCL was up 1.25 per cent to Rs 347.50 and ITC gained 1.05 per cent to Rs 1296.80.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 297.80 crore on Wednesday as per data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India website.

Strong buying support from foreign funds has helped the market record gains but the undertone of the market is cautious as a lack of active domestic participation in the last few weeks has raised concerns, market entities said.