F&O dynamics take toll

STOCK REPORT

Key indices ended fractionally lower on Wednesday after a choppy session, which dealers said was due to squaring of positions ahead of August futures series expiry on Thursday.

Traders were reluctant to build fresh positions due to slowdown in foreign fund buying. Sun Pharma, up 3 per cent, was the top Nifty gainer.

In the Nifty, Hindustan Lever's 2 per cent loss was evened out by a 2 per cent rise in Reliance Industries. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, another key index component, also ended marginally up.

Among most major Asian markets, which fell around 1 per cent on Wednesday, the Indian markets fared relatively better.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex closed at 7612.00, down 3.99 points from Tuesday's close. The index saw an intra-day high of 7639.68 and a low of 7537.50 earlier.

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 2322.50, down 3.60 points. It touched an intra-day low of 2300.45.

Bears reaffirmed their strength with nearly 70 per cent of the total traded stocks on the BSE ending lower.

Videsh Sanchar Nigam, Colgate-Palmolive India, HCL Technologies, Steel Authority of India, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Tata Steel, and Gujarat Ambuja Cements shed between 2-3 per cent.

Most technology shares ended weak, with Tata Consultancy Services, Satyam Computer Services, Wipro, and Infosys Technologies falling 1-2 per cent.

Among front-line gainers, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Bharat Heavy Electricals, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Larsen and Toubro, and Reliance Energy ended 1-2 per cent higher.

Among second line indices, the CNX Midcap Index was the worst performer, ending down 1.2 per cent at 3508.85. The CNX IT Index shed 1.1 per cent to end at 2999.25. The CNX Bank Index closed 0.5 per cent lower at 4014.20, recovering from an intra-day low of 3952.50.

Glenmark Pharmaceutical was the top gainer in the CNX Midcap Index. It ended up 4 per cent at Rs 277.85 . The most prominent loser was Bajaj Hindustan, down 8 per cent at Rs 181.75. Indiabulls Financial Services, Madras Cements, HMT and Hotel Leela ended between 5-6 per cent lower.

Shiv Gupta, dealer at Jet Age Securities, said, "The technical support level seems to be intact, as the Nifty bounced back from earlier lows to close above 2320 level."

He sees 2300 as a key support level for the Nifty. Gupta said the main concern was the slowdown in FII inflows.

"Oil prices are still heated, and could affect sentiment. If oil prices don't come off, inflation could rise due to higher cost of production, hence increasing the interest cost, and finally the market efficiency."

However, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's Business Confidence Survey for the June quarter shows the Indian industry is upbeat and undaunted by rising input costs, buoyed by strong demand.